Lost
by TMHB77
Summary: Changed the Title! still the same story. Spyro and his friends go on a little vacation, but when Cynder cant go with Spyro, he chooses another...Amber. has she changed? or will another tragedy repeat itself?
1. Chapter 1 The Cost Of Truth

**THE COST OF TRUTH**

**Allow me to set the scene...**

**this takes place after love at first sight, but does not tie in to lucifers kingdom in any way. it wont be as long as my other stories, and the chapters may be a little short, so I apologize in advance for that.  
**

**Spyro and Amber are involved. Spyro is now 18 and Amber is now 20. Amber is broken up with Deo, and Spyro learns once and for all who really cares about him.**

**Spyro also has a few new friends he has made since being in school. they are Dwight, chris, and gordon, and they will play a painfully important role in this story of betreyal.**

**so without any further delay, let us begin...**

The sun shines brightly into Spyro's cave, managing to find his eye no matter where he moved.

he got up, and readied himself for another day.

he stretched his wings and yawned, then looked over at his roomate, Flame.

"Flame, get up or we'll be late for class." Spyro warned putting a mint leaf in his mouth to combat his morning breath.

Flame stirred, muttered something inaudible, then rolled over.

Spyro sighed to himself as he walked over to him and yanked the covers off of him to reveal Ember in the bed with him.

this was not a shock to him, because since Flame and herself had started going out, she had become accustomed to sleeping in their cave.

"Ember dont you have a place to live?" Spyro asked with an 'its too early for this' inflection

"Yes, but I like your place so much more..." she said yawning as well.

Spyro rolled his eyes and shook flame again

"Lets go dude we cant be late again!"

"Ok, ok I'm up...I'm up!"

Flame got ready and the both of them hustled out to the temple. this was there last year of schooling and they were eternally thankful for that.

"Ember has no idea how lucky she is that female school starts at noon."

"Agreed." Spyro said as the temple came into view. the two genders started out in the same class, but as hormones developed they were separated between the four elders. Ignitus and Terrador had the two boys classes, and Cyril and Voltier had the two girls classes.

they entered the temple on time, and sat down by gordo and dwight.

"What up broskis." Flame said and Spyro nodded.

"Not much boys, too early for this stuff ya know?" dwight said

"Way too early." Spyro agreed.

Ignitus entered the room and started the class

toward the end of the day, he called the class' attention.

"Alright boys, as you know, the annual cruise to the islands off dragon shores is in a few days, and I still need the names of the dates a few people."

"Spyro, who are you taking?" Ignitus asked

'Oh damn, I still havent asked anyone...'

"I'll let you know tomorrow Ignitus"

"Very well...Flame, who are you taking?"

"I'm taking Ember."

"Ok then...Spyro dont forget to give me a name by tomorrow." Ignitus said writing Embers name down and dismissing the class.

outside, Flame caught up with Spyro

"I cant believe you havent asked anyone on the cruise yet! Do you at least have anyone in mind?"

"Yeah, I think I'm going to ask Cynder."

"She is nice...you kinda like her dont ya?" Flame teased

"I guess you could say that." Spyro said smiling

they got back to the cave and Spyro grabbed his com crystal and pushed Cynder's symbol.

he waited a little while, and she answered.

"Hey Spyro! whats going on?"

"Not much, just wanted to know if you were going to be busy this weekend."

"Well...Cyril is making us take exams on monday, so I'll be studying all weekend. why?"

"Ignitus' cruise to the islands is this weekend, but Exams are more important."

"Yeah...sorry Spyro. Thanks for the invite though! I'll see you when you get back!"

Spyro hung up the phone and faced Flame

"Well? Can she go?" he asked

"No...she has exams...damn that Cyril..." Spyro said laying on his bed

"Who am I suppose to take now?" Spyro asked himself

"I dont know man..."

Then a thought entered Spyro's head... one that Flame recognized immediately.

"NO! Spyro, no! Negative, no no no no I know who you are thinking about bringing and I say nay, a thousand times no!" Flame said sternly

"I dont know Flame...a lot has changed since then."

"Dont you remember what she did to you?! How can you even talk to her after that?"

"It's ok Flame, that was forever ago, we're just friends now, it'll be fine."

"Whatever Spyro, but if she starts acting the way she used to, I'm throwing her overboard."

"Ok, deal." Spyro laughed as he pressed the symbol for Amber.

**Like I said, the chapters may be a bit short, but I'll try to make them as long as possible without dragging them out. anyway, the theme song for the entire story is Tears Dont Fall** by Bullet for my valentine. I left the link for the video below but if that doesnt work, just youtube search. and it does have some words that may be inaudible to you non-hardcore fans, so the lyrics are below.

/watch?v7mMJX58qk8

Lets go!

With blood shot eyes I watch you sleeping  
The warmth I feel beside me is slowly fading  
Would she hear me if I called her name?  
Would she hold me if she knew my shame?

There's always something different going wrong  
The path I walk's in the wrong direction  
There's always someone fucking hanging on  
Can anybody help me make things better?

Your tears don't fall  
They crash around me  
Her conscience calls the guilty to come home  
Your tears don't fall  
They crash around me  
Her conscience calls the guilty to come home

The moments died, I hear no screaming  
The visions left inside me are slowly fading  
Would she hear me if I called her name?  
Would she hold me if she knew my shame?

There's always something different going wrong  
The path I walk's in the wrong direction  
There's always someone fucking hanging on  
Can anybody help me make things better?

Your tears don't fall  
They crash around me  
Her conscience calls the guilty to come home  
Your tears don't fall  
They crash around me  
Her conscience calls the guilty to come home

Oh! Yeah!

This battered room I've seen before  
The broken bones they heal no more, no more  
With my last breath I'm choking  
Will this ever end I'm hoping  
My world is over one more time

Lets go

Would she hear me if i called her name?  
Would she hold me, if she knew my shame?

There's always something to be going wrong  
The path I walk's in the wrong direction  
There's always someone fucking hanging on  
Can anybody help me make things better?

Your tears don't fall  
They crash around me  
Her conscience calls the guilty to come home  
Your tears don't fall tears don't fall  
They crash around me  
Her conscience calls the guilty to come HOME!

PEACE!


	2. Chapter 2 The Setup

**CHAPTER 2- THE SETUP **

"Hey Spyro! its been a while." Amber said over the crystal

"Yeah, I just had a question for you."

"You know you can ask me anything. shoot."

"Well, I wanted to know if you were doing anything this weekend."

"Not that I know of, why?"

"Well, there is this cruise that a bunch of my class is going on, and I wanted to know if you wanted to-"

"Of course! That would be amazing!" Amber almost shouted

"Ok ok, glad you like that idea too..." Spyro laughed

"When is it?"

"This weekend, I'll let you know more when I find out."

"Ok...oh...this is going to be so much fun!! I love you Spyro!"

"Yeah, I love you too Amber." Spyro said hanging up.

I love you...something that had seemed to lose its meaning to him, ever since what happened with Amber. Whenever she talked to him, she had the odd habit of ending all of their encounters with 'I love you.' Something he found strangely painful every time those series of words escaped her lips. He knew what she meant, love as a friend...or at least, that what he hoped. She used it so liberally, that it was sometimes hard to discern the sincerity of the three words that tore at his heart. Sure, he always answered with an 'I love you too,' but not even he was sure how he meant it. His feelings for her lasted for a very long time, but he found that eventually, the painful memories faded, and he found it possible to at least be friends with her. But still, every now and then...he felt that familiar burning in his chest return in force, making him unable to even look her in those beautiful gold eyes he would always find himself lost in when he would dream of her.

"Well...what is the verdict?" Flame said shooting an annoyed look at the fact that someone who had hurt his best friend and that he personally hated, was going to be on the same island as he was.

"She can go." Spyro said smiling at Flames reaction.

"Remember what I said. If she acts the way she used to...Overboard." he motioned getting on his bed and turning on the T.V.

"I get it." Spyro said also laying on his bed, with his hands behind his head.

He lay there, daydreaming about the possibilities of the cruise, and of how he would arguably the prettiest date of all of his classmates.

Then he felt his stomach rumble loudly, drawing his and Flames attention.

"Wow. Lets get some lunch before your stomach eats itself." Flame said jumping off his bed and Spyro following suit.

They flew to the fields where the sheep herd was looking numerous as always.

"Alright, see a good one?" Spyro asked

"Um...I'm not seeing anything that stands out...bingo! Dibs on the herd leader!" he said swooping down on the unsuspecting sheep, releasing a column of orange fire, torching it just the way he liked it.

Spyro did the same with his purple fire and carried his over to where Flame sat, chomping merrily.

"Slow down dude, you dont want to choke."

"Mot me...I'm a pro...but...I'm suffosed to eat...with...ah...Embers parents tonight, and her mom is not the best cook."

"Haha, yeah I know...anyway, I gotta get ready for the trip, see ya."

Spyro flew to the temple and went to Ignitus' chambers. Usually, the other dragons his age fear Ignitus, and wouldnt dream of going into his private quarters unless they had to, much less unannounced.

He knocked and heard Ignitus' booming voice tell him to enter.

"Ahhh Spyro, what can I do for you my boy? Have you found a date for the cruise?"

"Yes sir, thats what I came here to tell you, her name is Amber."

"Amber...a fine name, Spyro, she isnt by chance the same girl as-"

Spyro knew where he was going and wasnt really in the mood to hear the same thing Flame said over again.

"Yes, but things are different now, we are both past that." Spyro snapped slightly annoyed.

"Very well Spyro, the ship leaves from dragon shores at 5 am tomorrow. Dont be late."

Spyro nodded and took his leave. Ignitus was only concerned for his wellbeing, maybe his reaction was a little too harsh. After all, he was the one who raised him like his own, and gave him food and shelter when he was still young.

He shook his head trying to clear out those melancholy thoughts when he bumped head first into Cynder, knocking her and himself over.

"Oh, hey Spyro!" she said happily even though he had just knocked her to the ground along with the books she was carrying.

"Sorry about that Cynder, my head was somewhere else..." He said picking up her books and glancing at the cover of one.

"Wow, advanced draconic offense theory? I've never even heard of that."

"Its a special book Ignitus gave me, he says I'm gifted or something, so he makes me do more work, and makes me sit at the front of the class, away from everyone else. As if it wasnt hard enough for me to make friends already, now I'm some kind of prodigy."

Spyro smiled and looked at her, making her expression just a little lighter.

"Ignitus doesnt know how it is to be a young dragon like you and I are, he grew up being home schooled or something."

Cynder considered this, and her expression went from saddened to pouty

"I guess...but ignorance is no excuse."

Spyro laughed and handed Cynder her final book

"So what are you doing today?" he asked

"Just going to drop these off in my room and freshen up some. What are you doing?"

"I'm done with class for today, want to get a bite to eat later?"

"Yeah I am pretty hungry, I'll met you back here in a half hour."

"Ok, bye Cynder."

She motioned goodbye and they parted ways. as Spyro walked he couldnt help but recount the familiar feeling he got when he was with Cynder. It wasnt the fiery feeling in his heart like Amber had, but it was something...something about Cynder made him generally happy, something he hadn't felt in quite a while.

Spyro stepped outside and looked around at the blue skies, green grass, and hatchlings playing in the meadow while their parents watched.

He flew back to his cave and called Amber.

"Spyro! Hey buddy! What did you find out?"

"The ship leaves Dragon shores at 5 am tomorrow."

"Really? Wow thats early...when are we coming back?"

"We'll be there for three days...so I think Tuesday."

"Yay! This is going to be so much fun! I'll be coming into Avalar later tonight, is that ok?"

"Yeah thats fine with me."

"Ok, bye Spyro, I love you!"

"I love you too Amber."

There it was again, that burning feeling...


	3. Chapter 3 Awaken

**CHAPTER 3- AWAKEN **

Deep in Convexity, the dark masters purple energy beam turns a violent red as he orders his new commander into his presence.

A large ape wearing armor and sporting scars of previous battles appears out of a black portal.

"What is your wish master?"

"I have felt a disturbance in our young enemy's aura...it seems as though he is going to a distant island by boat with many of his kind...make sure he never makes it."

Gaul smiled and bowed as he took his leave.

"Yes master, your will be done."

"Gual."

"Yes sir?" he said turning around

"Use the sea troll."

"Yes my Lord." Gual said, a smile playing about his scarred face.

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Spyro is asleep on his bed when Flame wakes him from his nap, by tripping over a rock near the entrance.

"Geez Spyro how much do you need to sleep?" Flame asked recovering from his fall.

"A lot...being hero is a lot of work..." Spyro said sleepily

"Pfft, since when? you havent fought anyone in ages."

"Not my fault that all the bad guys are afraid to cause trouble. Guess I'm just too good at my job." Spyro said rolling over trying to get more sleep.

Flame rolled his eyes as Ember trailed him inside.

"So is tonight the night when 'it' comes.?" Flame asked coldly

"Yes, and I'd appreciate it if you would at least not be a jerk to her." Spyro answered rolling back over to face them.

"Alright, but dont expect me to talk or even look in her direction...and by the way, you are the worst for taking her after what she did to you." he said glaring over his shoulder.

"Flame relax, its been years, I'm sure she is different now, and you know she was beating herself up over Spyro, so dont make it worse." Ember said as Flame turned around and leaned on his bed, arms folded, issuing a disgruntled huff.

"Its almost sunset, I'm going to go wait for Amber. Remember Flame, be nice." Spyro said smiling because he knew it pushed his buttons.

Spyro waited nervously at the edge of town, where Amber said she'd meet him. The sun was setting, bathing everything in an orange light, and casting long shadows across the fields ahead of him.

He sat down with his back against a tree as he watched the skies for any sign of Amber. His eyes start to get heavy and he kept them about halfway open. He begins to doze off when he spots a white glistening in the distance. Even though the sun had gone down, it was still to bright to see the stars, so it must have been Amber.

He got up from the tree and flew a few hundred feet in the air to meet her. As soon as she came into earshot, he could hear her as she shouted.

"Spyro!"

He could tell she had no intention of slowing down as she collided with him into a massive hug as the both plummeted to the ground. Even in the crater, Amber still held him.

"Spyro I missed you so much!!" She said giving his chest one final squeeze before letting go. It was only then that he got a good look at her. Just as beautiful as he remembered, if not more. That burning in his chest returned in force, more than he had ever felt since..._then_.

"I missed you too Amber." he choked out those words as he got up and looked toward town.

"How was your trip?"

"Ugh, my wings are killing me. I think I still remember where you live...that way right?" she pointed toward the east.

"Close, but more like in this direction..." he laughed taking her arm and pointed it toward Dragon village.

"Its been a while since I've been here, go easy on me."

The two of them walk back to Spyro's cave where he saw that Flame and Ember.

The two of them walked in and only Ember aknowledged Amber's presence, while Flame pretended to be busy with something, remembering the promise he made to Spyro to be...nice.

"Well, we only have one more day of class, then we leave the next day." Spyro explained as he cleared off his bed for her and made one on the ground where he would sleep.

"Yay! This is going to be so much fun! Umm...Spyro? What are you doing?" Amber asked curiously

"You can sleep up here tonight, and I'll sleep-"

"On the floor? No way Spyro, I'm not stealing your bed, you can sleep up here with me." Amber completed.

"But Amber-"

"No buts! besides, if Flame and Ember can do it, why cant we?" she argued

"Because your concentrated evil repels all things good." Flame mumbled

"Huh?" Amber asked

Ember elbowed him in the gut and he hunched over breathing hard

"Nothing..." Flame chocked out softly

"Are you ok Flame?" Spyro asked, seeing the whole thing and smiling.

"Peachy..." he gasped glaring at him

"Thats good, I'm going to bed, night guys." Spyro said as Amber climbed into bed and he followed suit nervously.

"Goodnight Spyro..." she said and kissed him on the cheek.

His heart light on fire and so did his stomach.

'Easy Spyro...it doesnt mean what you think it does.' he reasoned as he barely got the words 'goodnight' out of his mouth.

the lights in the cave were soon extinguished and sleep came easily to all, albeit, uncomfortably.

_Meanwhile in the Shadow realms..._

Gaul the ape king stood in front of the ocean on a high cliff, a storm raging below, with massive waves pounding the cliff face.

He had traded in his armor for a long black robe with a hood.

A staff in hand, and magic gems held in pentagram formation by his soldiers, with him in the center facing the raging ocean.

"The time has come, to awaken him. I call upon the ancient lords of the underworld, To bring forth this beast and, Awaken, awaken, awaken, awaken!" Gual shouted over the howling winds and the storm seemed to increase as he went on, the dark gems slowly starting to glow.

"Take the sea, it must be taken! Awaken, awaken, awaken, awaken, Devour worlds, smite forsaken! Rise up from your thousand year-old sleep, Break forth from your grave eternally! I command you to rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise!" at the conclusion of this verse of the spell, a whirlpool formed in the sea below and a faint red light grew brighter with each passing second as lightning struck the water in the swirling pool.

I'm the conjurer of demons! I'm the father of your death! I bring forth the ancient evil! I control his every breath! I instigate, your misfortune! With the birth of killing trolls! I awaken armageddon, Feeding on a thousand souls! Awaken, Awaken, Awaken, Awaken!" the gems exploded in the soldiers hands and they cried out as the shards sliced through their hands and the dark energy from the gems shot into the whirlpool, and a blue monstrous troll stood up about 100 feet tall, with two large ram like curved horns on its head, an uncountable amount of teeth, and sharp spikes and fins on its arms and legs, which were webbed and clearly used for swimming fast after prey.

"Mustakrakish! welcome! you must lay in wait for the dark masters enemy! step into this portal, and lay in the waters until you find his ship. when you do, kill them all!" Gaul ordered and the beast howled in obedience.

Gaul opened a portal to Avalar and the creature stepped through, diving into the deep blue oceans to lie in wait, for Spyro.


	4. Chapter 4 Signs

**CHAPTER 4- SIGNS  
**

Spyro and Flame got up and went to their last day of class without any trouble, sitting down next to their friends.

Seeing them sit down, Dwight spoke up

"Hey boys, how was your weekend?" he asked reclining in his seat.

"Good all around, yours?" Flame asked

"Fine as well, Spyro did you ever find a date for the cruise?"

"Sure did, she's asleep in my cave right now."

"Ohhhh Spyro! Is she from this school?"

"Nope, she's 20."

"Oh an older woman eh? You gonna hit that?" Dwight said smiling

Spyro just grinned and looked away. Even though he knew nothing was likely to happen, he had to keep up the facade of the 'typical male' going after any tail he could get.

Ignitus came in and began the lesson for that day. It was a light lecture as everyones mind was focused on the cruise which was less than 12 hours away.

class ended and the boys left the classroom and Spyro and Flame waited impatiently for 5 a.m. to roll around.

"Oh my god if I dont find something to do I'm going to go insane!" Flame complained flipping through the channels on the television.

The sun was just now setting and the soft orange light shone into their cave.

"Ugh, go down already!" Spyro said a few hours later, still having found nothing to do.

"I know! Amber you've never seen the inside of the dragon temple have you?" Spyro asked

"No, I've always wanted to see whats in there. Can you show me?" she asked hopefully

"Sure! C'mon!" he said taking her with him

"Bye Ember! Bye Flame!" Amber said as she was practically dragged behind Spyro

"Bye Amber!" Ember said

"Dont come back!" Flame said softer, getting yet another elbow from Ember.

Amber walked unusually close to Spyro as they made their way to the temple. On arrival, Spyro pushed the two heavy front doors open and revealed the large central room with the large dragon statue in the middle.

"Wow..." Amber gasped

"Spyro this is incredible... " she said looking at the ornate carvings on the walls of battles, and heroes of old.

"This is where I am locked up most of my day. Believe me, it loses its novelty after a while." Spyro continued as they walked further into the heart of the temple.

They came to a large gold door and pushed it open, revealing a mound of gold coins, jewels, and general treasure reaching to the ceiling.

"Oh my god...what is this?"

"This is the treasure room. All the spoils of war I've ever brought back from my adventures, are all right here."

"So...all of this is yours?"

"Technically, yes, but I dont need that much money, just enough to get by." Spyro said humbly as he closed the door and walked toward a set of spiral stairs.

"And now, I'll show you my favorite part of the whole thing." He said smirking as he slowly climbed the stairs.

she followed him up the stairs, and admired Spyro's well cut lower muscles. she realized what she was doing she looked away quickly and blushed as they finally got to the top.

They arrived on a high balcony, overlooking all of dragon village, and all the forest between there and the mountains.

The sun was almost down, but a small portion was still above the mountains, which made everything look beautiful.

"Spyro...this is amazing..." she whispered he came up behind her and whispered in her ear,

"I know...its the spot I come to when I want to be alone to think, or just to relax..."

She smiled gently and looked into his eyes as she turned to face him.

They got closer...their faces inching toward each other.

Spyro could almost feel her breath on his cheek when, instead of leaning in the last few inches, she diverted into his shoulder, and turned what could have been a heated moment, into a platonic hug.

'Of course...you wouldnt make it that easy would you?' Spyro thought as he held her for a short time as darkness set in.

"I think we better get back to my cave...we have to get up early tomorrow." he said smiling

"Yeah...Spyro, I'm really glad we're still friends...you really mean a lot to me..." she said as a remorseful look crossed her beautiful face, recalling the way she had toyed with Spyro's emotions.

"Its ok sweetheart, thats in the past...now lets go, I'm getting tired." Spyro reassured her.

They flew from the balcony back to his cave where Ember and Flame were already asleep.

They crept into the cave as quiet as possible, making sure not to trip or stumble over anything.

Spyro carefully crawled into bed, and Amber molded herself around him, even closer than the night before, sending his heart racing.

Her scent was intoxicating, and it was all around him, denying him even a wink of sleep as his mind raced with the unlikely possibilities and likely possibilities of the oncoming cruise. After what seemed like hours, his thoughts finnaly settled down, and allowed him rest.

His dream however, did not.

He was standing on the deck of a ship, with his friends all around him, drinking, talking, and generally having fun, like they should be.

All of the sudden, everyone froze in place, then slowly dissolved away as their ashes were carried away by the sea breeze.

Spyro began to panic as he ran to the side of the ship to try to find land to fly to and get help, but there was nothing but ocean for miles.

The sea then became angry, and the blue sky turned black and a whirlpool formed off the side of the ship, the water turning the same black as the sky.

A monster rose from the water, although he couldnt tell what it was, but he could tell it was bad news. He prepared a battle stance, but felt something strange in his chest and back. He looked down, and saw the bloody tip of a knife sticking out of his chest. He turned his head to see where it had come from, and he couldnt believe his eyes.

It was Amber, holding the knife, buried to the hilt.

He awoke with a jump and knocked Amber off the bed and onto the floor.

"Ahh!" she said as she hit the cave floor with a thud.

Flame and Ember had woken up and started getting ready only moments before. Needless to say, Flame got a good laugh, and a firm elbow out of the whole thing.

"Damnit Ember will you stop that!" he complained, holding his stomach.

"I will when you stop being an ass!" she snapped quietly.

"Amber are you ok?" she asked helping her up.

"Yea I'm fine, the better question is, are you ok Spyro? You scared the crap out of me, you started moving, and breathing heavy, I wasnt really sure weather I should wake you up or not." She said with concern in her voice

"Its ok...just a bad dream...so is it time to leave yet?" he said changing the subject, not wanting to revisit the elements of his nightmare.

"Yea, we need to be at the temple in a few minutes." Ember said grabbing a few essentials from her side of the room.

They set out in the pre-dawn darkness and they came to a clearing where they saw the rest of their classmates.

After a few minutes of waiting for others to show up, Igntius summoned the portal to dragon shores, and they stepped through.

On the other side they saw the massive cruise liner that was waiting to take them to the islands.

"Finally, a well deserved vacation! And the drinking age on this boat and on the islands is 18! Woohoo! I'm not going to remember a thing!" Flame said boarding the ship with Ember in tow.

"Well, lets get after it." Spyro said as he and Amber did the same. As he walked the gangplank onto the uppermost deck, he couldnt help but recount his dream.

He decided to shake it off and enjoy the trip, after all, it was only a dream...right?


	5. Chapter 5 Setting Sail

**CHAPTER-5 SETTING SAIL**

Spyro and Amber gave their tickets to the dragon at the gate and walked aboard the ship, checking in at the front desk, and getting the room keys for their cabin.

It was still very early in the morning, in fact, the sun hadnt risen yet.

"Spyro, I'm starving...is there anything to eat on this boat?" she asked as her stomach agreed.

They went topside and found some food at the bar on deck.

After eating, Spyro found his way to the side of the railing where Amber soon followed.

"Have you ever seen the sunrise at dawn sweet thing?" Spyro said with a laugh

"Not in a long time...not since...the last time we were together." she said taking his arm in hers and resting her head on his shoulder as they watched the large, radiant ball of light slowly rise from the ocean.

Spyro heard some talking and loud laughing.

"That sounds like Flame." Spyro said smiling and starting to walk toward the stairs that led to the lower deck.

"Um...thats ok Spyro, I dont feel very well...I get seasick sometimes." Amber admitted sheepishly for not mentioning it sooner.

"Aw, I'm sorry Amber, here's the room key, I think we're in 504. I'll be up in a bit, hope you feel better."

"Thanks Spyro, I'll try, but I'll probably be asleep." She said smiling hopefully at the thought of relief from seasickness.

Amber went back to their room, and Spyro went to the lower deck and saw Flame and the rest of his school friends in deck chairs, drinking, carrying on, and generally having a good time.

"Spyro! Whoo!!" Many of them yelled, having already had a few drinks. The most obviously impaired was Flame, who was being supported by Ember. She was having trouble holding him up, so Spyro decided to relieve her.

"Spyro!! Hey...W-where you been b-buddy?" Flame said hanging off of Ember shoulders.

Her eyes screamed for Spyro to get him off her shoulder.

"I've been around, come here alky." He said taking his arm and allowing Ember to rest in her deck chair, hearing her mutter what sounded like 'thank god'.

Spyro soon let Flame go about his business and released him from his support as he went off to socialize with more dragons from his class.

He sat down beside Ember as she sipped on a bright red tropical drink and watched as her boyfriend made a spectacle of himself, as did other classmates of theirs.

"Well Ember looks like you've got your day planned out huh?" Spyro said amused at Flames behavior.

"Yes, today is his day to have fun, tomorrow is my day." She said, not appreciating Spyro's amusement

"Oh C'mon Ember, you have to admit he is kinda funny when he gets this way."

Ember smiled a little bit, as did Spyro, accomplishing his goal of lightening her mood.

Soon after, Dwight came and sat in the chair next to Spyro, drink in hand, but he wasn't impaired at all.

"Spyro, man where's your date? I still dont even know what she looks like."

"She went back to our room, she's feeling a bit seasick."

"Oh man thats terrible. Anyway, get a drink dude you're depressing me over here! Bartender!" Dwight shouted as he got up and followed one down to the galley.

Eventually, Flame sobered up and sat down next to Ember, promptly falling asleep to the gentle sway of the ship on the calm waters.

"I heard there's a casino on board, you want to check it out?" Spyro asked, reading the brochure the bartender had given him when she delivered his drink.

Ember looked at Flame, who was sprawled on his deck chair, drooling slightly from the corner of his mouth, fast asleep.

"He'll be fine. Lets go." she said as they walked up the stairs and wandered the ship until they came upon a grand decadent room filled with slot machines, table games and many other gambling aids.

"Dont you have to be 21 to gamble?" Ember asked as the doorman opened the door for them.

"Not here, we're in inter-realm waters now. The age for everything is 18." Spyro explained as they found themselves in the center of all the action.

Spyro played Black jack while Ember played Roulette, and they met back outside the casino.

"Well, how did you fare?" Spyro asked

"I made 130 gems!" Ember said excitedly

"How about you Spyro?"

"125! This was a good idea, glad we quit when we were ahead."

They walked back to their chairs on the outside deck and saw Flame still sleeping, but someone had drawn a monacle, and a pointy french mustache on him with a permanent marker.

Spyro and Ember couldnt help but laugh as they resumed their places beside him.

Then Spyro was reminded that Amber was still in his room, he had forgotten all about her.

"I'm going to go check on Amber, I'll see you guys later."

At this point, they had spent the whole day on the boat, and the sun was beginning to set.

Spyro found his room and opened the door, to find Amber sleeping peacefully on the bed as the last warm rays of the days sunlight shone in through the porthole.

He sat down next to her on the bed and stroked the elegent curves of her back and neck, causing her to stir from her light sleep.

"Hey...felling any better?"

She slightly opened her eyes as she rubbed her head against the pillow.

"A little bit..." she said wearily.

"How long have I been asleep?"

"Well, you're going on all day, thats a new record." Spyro laughing slightly.

He noticed a smile graced her beautiful face as she continued.

"What time is it?" she asked openeing her eyes fully.

"Its a little past sunset."

She turned over onto her back, as if she were going to get up.

"Are you hungry?" Spyro asked lying down next to her on his side.

"Not really...I'm still kinda tired." she said softly as he stroked her stomach gently, to try and ease her seasickness.

She grabbed his hand and their eyes met. This was another one of those moments like the one on the balcony, where either things could heat up, or get played off.

The latter won again, to Spyro's slight dismay. When it came to Amber, his feelings couldnt be more mixed. On the one hand, she had led him to believe that there was a chance they would be together, when there wasn't at that time. The pain she put him through was something he hadn't ever experienced, and hoped to never experiece again. But on the other hand, She had broken up with Deo, which he thought couldn't happen according to Shaydo, but actually, the truth was that Spyro couldn't interfere with their relationship, If one of them decided to end it, the Dark Master would still be imprisoned. That fact angered Spyro when he first found out they split up, but by the time he knew, it had been a while since his time traveling adventure, so he decided to leave that issue alone. But another girl had come into his life since then...Cynder. She was everything Amber was, but not as experienced as her at dating and relationships. Call him coy, but Spyro was unsure of weather or not Cynder felt the connection he did. She always seemed so busy with all the extra work the elders give her, that Spyro never really got a chance to get to know her outside the temple, which discouraged his efforts a bit.

Either way, Amber was here now, so his efforts were focused on her.

Night fell over the ocean as the vessel reached the middle of the voyage, far away from any kind of land.

Spyro left to get dinner with Ember and Flame while Amber stayed in the room, claiming her seasickness returning.

Spyro closed and locked the door and stepped over the passed out body of one of his classmates in the hallway.

He met his friends in the dining room, Ember looking radiant as always, and Flame, well...he was a mess.

"Wow Flame you ok?" Spyro asked laughing

"Please stop yelling..." Flame complained holding his head.

Spyro and Ember both laughed as they sat down and ordered dinner.

"Ember, please tell me you arent going to look like this tomorrow when its your day to have fun."

"Oh no, I told him to pace himself. This lightweight was passed out by lunchtime." Ember said eating

She set a glass of water and a few spare saltines from her salad in front of Flame.

"Eat and drink this babe." Ember said turning back to Spyro

"Sometimes its like taking care of a child..." Ember said softly

"I'm hungover, not deaf you know..." Flame said annoyed trying to eat what Ember had given him.

Spyro smiled as he ate his fill as well.

"So where's Amber?" she asked

"Back in the room...she's feeling a little seasick."

"Oh, that sucks...so, I have to ask...Why did you bring Amber?" Ember asked quietly.

Spyro was a little confused

"What do you mean?"

"C'mon Spyro...the only reason males bring a date is to...you know." Ember said raising a suggestive eyebrow. (or the draconic equivalent)

"Well, I kinda wanted to talk to you about that...I know I shouldnt fell the way I sometimes do about her, but I dont know what to do about it. I mean, I want us to be friends, but sometimes...I feel like I want more."

Ember looked at him with empathy and gave Flame the room key.

"Go to bed Flame, I'll be up in a few." Flame departed without another word.

"C'mon loverboy, lets take a walk." Ember said getting up

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Gual stood in front of the dark masters prison on one knee reporting the successful ressurection of the sea troll, Mustakrakish.

"My lord, the dragon is halfway between the mainland and the islands, now is the time to attack."

"Excellent Gual. On my command, release the sea troll upon them, and leave no survivors."

"Yes my lord, I await your command." Gaul growled

"Spyro has beaten my servants before...his will to fight has always been the reason he triumphs over me, so now you must find a way to destroy his will, before you destroy his life. Understand?"

"Yes Master, I will not fail you." Gaul said taking his leave back into his chambers, where he looked at Spyro through his dark viewing pool.

Gaul had nothing but boiling hatred for Spyro, and would constantly dream of the day when he would get to see the life leave Spyro's eyes as he killed him with his bare hands.

"Little dragon, your end is near." Gaul said as the image in the pool changed to Amber, sleeping peacefully.

He smiled as he lifted a vile with pink powder inside it from his cloak, and poured it into the pool, causing it to bubble, and simmer before settling down.

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Out of one of the vents in Amber and Spyro's room, a small pink cloud descended on the sleeping dragoness. she inhaled it and her eyes shot open.

Amber was feeling renewed, all of her seasickness gone without a trace.

Something didn't feel right, as if she was being watched, then she heard an unfamiliar voice in her head.

"Hello Amber." Gual whispered.

**had to fix some spelling errors, I was apparently really tired when I wrote this chap! lol**


	6. Chapter 6 Shipwrecked!

**CHAPTER 6-SHIPWRECKED!**

Amber sat up from her bed and listened intently to the new voice in her mind, as if she was compelled to do what it told her.

"Now Amber, don't you think its time for you to meet some of Spyros friends?" Gaul said devilishly from the safety of his chambers.

'Yes, I think that would be fun.' she thought standing up and walking toward the door.

Amber walked out of their room and locked the door behind her. She walked down the hallway and and stopped at the door to the ballroom on the ship.

'Well? What are you waiting for? Go in there!' Gaul said angrily, growing impatient at her resistance to his power.

'Shes not under my power fully...this should help.' Gaul thought as he pulled out another vile of the pink powder and poured it into the liquid to the same effect as before.

Amber felt an incredible calm wash over her as her eyes drooped a little, and she was now more compelled than ever to obey the strange voice invading her mind.

'Now then, get in there, and lets have some fun...' Gual instructed and she obeyed immediately, disappearing into the crowd of dragons in the darkened room, all of the males taking notice of the beautiful dragoness that had just graced them with her presence.

"I don't know Ember...Sometimes I feel one way about her, and then other times I feel another. Its just...when I remember what we could have been...and what we were...and then the fact that I had to let her go, and watch as she stayed in that terrible relationship, while I couldn't do a thing." Spyro trailed off as he and Ember walked the well lit outer deck, looking out onto the darkened ocean.

"This is definitely a rare situation Spyro, but you have to understand, that girls are strange. A lot of times, we know what kind of guy is going to treat us like princesses, but when we finally realize it, we run away for someone who is obviously bad, but we embrace that kind of dragon anyway...I couldn't begin to tell you why, its just the way we are. Eventually, after we get hurt enough, we figure out that the reason it keeps happening, is because we keep picking the assholes over the good guys, and when we finally make the right decision, all we can do is pray that the good guy we picked out to begin with, is still there waiting on us, after all of our immaturity." Ember said wisely as they stopped at the railing on the port side of the ship and watched the water below them slush around as the vessel cut through it.

Spyro mulled around Embers words in his head, staring blankly out into the darkness before finally responding.

"Well, there's that, but then there's also someone else...I think you know who I'm talking about."

Ember nodded and smiled

"You two would be good for each other, I don't know why you don't ask her out." Ember said in a prodding manner.

"She's always busy, plus it doesnt help that most everyone is still afraid of her."

"Who cares about that Spyro! You like her because of who she is right?"

Spyro nodded and Ember continued

"Then who cares what everyone else thinks! I know the real Cynder, Flame knows the real Cynder, and you know the real Cynder, probably better than any of us do, besides Ignitus."

Spyro knew she was right, but there was still one more thing keeping him and Cynder from hitting it off...

"And...I dont think she likes me that way." Spyro said sheepishly

Ember turned to him, her eyes wide from shock as she held back laughter.

"Are you serious? You think she wouldn't go for you? Do you know who you are?" Ember asked laughing

"Yeah, Yeah, I know that, but I'm just...I get really nervous around her for some reason." Spyro replied annoyed at Embers insinuation that his celebrity status was the only reason he got so much female attention.

"Well, that may be because she tried to kill you. Or, it could be because you like her!" Ember answered stubbornly

"Now enough of this, you're here to have fun, not depress yourself with girl problems, now lets go to the ballroom, there's supposed to be a dance at midnight." Ember said dragging him along.

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Amber was under Guals total control, when Dwight approached her from behind.

"Hey pretty lady, can I buy you a drink?" he asked

'Geez look at this guy.' Gual thought as he instructed her on her next move.

"Sure thing handsome." she said

Gauls plan was working perfectly, all he would need now is for Spyro to walk in at the perfect time.

(A/N: Keep in mind, Dwight has no idea what Spyro's date looked like, or even what her name was.)

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Cynder was curled up in her bed, attempting to sleep, though for some reason, none would come.

She felt a familiar weight in her stomach, one that she used to get right before one of her former masters plans were about to be set into motion.

She tossed and turned, but she couldn't shake the feeling that her friends were in danger.

She got out of her bed and opened the door to her room, peering out into the hallway. It was dark except for the few torches that provided light every so often. She walked slowly down the east hallway until she came to Cyril's door. Like Ignitus, most dragons her age respected the elders almost to the point of fear, though their fears were unfounded, of course.

She raised her forefoot off the ground and knocked on his door. It was pretty late, and she hoped she wouldnt wake him if he was asleep. Even though his sharp tongue was used on almost everyone, he seemed to have a soft spot for Cynder, never scolding her too harshly when she did wrong, and had more patience with her, than with the others.

"Come in." she heard from the other side of the door.

She pushed the door open and found Cyril meditating. The sweet smoke from his incense candles put Cynder at ease.

"Ahh, Cynder what are you doing up at this hour?" he asked, more relaxed then she had ever seen him.

"I couldn't sleep...I feel like-" she said softly but trailed off, thinking he would just shrug off her concern.

"What's the matter?"

Cynder looked away

Cyril looked at her more sternly.

"Come now Cynder, if something is bothering you, it is best to talk about it."

Cynder relented, and sat down on her haunches and explained what she was feeling.

"I just have an uneasy feeling about Spyro and the rest of my friends on that cruise...I feel the way I used to before one of the Dark Master's attacks were about to take place.

Cyril addresed her concern, but did not take it as seriously as she'd hoped.

"Cynder, The Dark master is sealed in convexity, there is no way he can hurt you, or anyone else. Besides, I'm sure Spyro and his friends are fine, they are with Ignitus and Terrador after all."

His words did little to console her, but she nevertheless went back to her room, to wait for sleep to come.

Spyro and Ember walked into the ballroom and looked around in the crowd for people they knew. Spyro spotted Dwight talking to someone who was obscured by the crowds.

He tried to get his attention, but it was all focused on whoever he was talking to.

He saw him lean in closer, and saw glimpses of white scaled lips on his own, to which Spyro smiled, glad that his friend had found a female, since he went alone.

Dwight looked up from his kiss and saw Spyro, he said something to his lady friend and got up from the booth they were in and walked over towards him, the girl he was with staying behind him so her face was still a mystery to him and Ember.

Gaul laughed maniacally as he saw that they were headed toward Spyro, and that he had seen them kissing.

'Well, looks like my work here is done...' he said as he added a blue powder to the image and the euphoric feeling Amber had been feeling all night suddenly disappeared as soon as it began. She snapped back to reality and realized what she had been doing. She looked at who she was with...it wasn't Spyro, in fact, they were heading toward Spyro, and when he saw that it was her that his friend was with, there would be trouble, but she was already too close to run now...

Spyro turned and got Embers attention to introduce her to Dwight. When he turned back to face them, he was shocked to discover that Amber, was the one Dwight was kissing in the corner earlier.

Ember noticed Spyro's silence and turned around, and she too, was just as shocked as he was.

Dwight saw this and was curious as to why they were looking at him as though he had spit in the face of God himself.

Spyro closed his mouth and gritted his teeth into a snarl, clenching his fists in his blind anger.

It wasn't Dwights fault, he didn't know who it was he was kissing, but rational thoughts such as these were blocked by Spyros building fury.

"Spyro, have you met-" Spyro didnt let him get another word out. He swung and connected with the left side of his jaw, sending hard to the ground, knocking him out cold.

Amber screamed at Spyro's reaction and Ember grabbed hold of his arms and held him back.

"Spyro what the hell?!" Ember said fighting a losing battle to restrain him.

"Amber how could you!?" Spyro snapped at her.

She didn't have an answer...she honestly had no idea why she had done the things she did...which only confused her even more.

As Spyro shot silent daggers, at her and his unconscious friend, a deafening shriek was heard outside and the ship rocked violently as the lights flickered on and off.

Spyro looked at the roof as it was ripped off by a giant creature standing beside the ship in the water.

The dragons ran to try and get out of the club Spyro took to the sky as did many other dragons. Ignitus flew up to Spyro with Terrador.

"Spyro! We must get out of here! Gather as many of our boys as you can and get out of here!"

"No Ignitus, this thing is after me, I'm sure of it! Just take everyone back to shore, I'll be there soon!"

"Spyro I wont allow this!"

"Just go!" Spyro said as he flew in close to the troll, he began launching fireballs at the monster as it swiped at him. This monster was bigger than anything he had ever faced, but the adrenaline rush from hitting Dwight was still running through his veins, and his normally well planned battle tactics were replaced by wreckless abandon, not caring what happened to him as he took his anger out on this evil monster. Guals plan worked perfectly.

Spyro looked back and saw the ship as it began to sink under the water. As he was distracted by the boat, he turned back to the troll, it hit him with one of his massive fists, sending him speeding toward the deck of the sinking ship. As he crashed into the deck, he heard and felt his wings crack, causing him to cry out in pain as he rolled over onto his stomach, gasping for air.

His vision began to fade, and he felt someone drag him to the edge of the boat, and throw him onto something hard, but wet. He felt the salt water stinging his wounds as he blacked out.


	7. Chapter 7 Isle Of Insanity

**CHAPTER 7-ISLE OF INSANITY**

"Spyro...be careful...no...spy...Spyro..." Cynder mumbled in her sleep, tossing and turning on her bed, in the midst of a nightmare.

It was already well past sunup, and Cyril had gone to check on her when he heard her through the door.

"Cynder are you ok in there?" he asked cracking the door, not wanting to completely invade her privacy.

His voice woke her from her nightmare and she lifted her head up from her cushion.

"Everything ok young one?" he asked with just his head in the door.

"Yes Elder Cyril...just a bad dream." she said sleepily.

"Very well, its almost noon Cynder, you don't usually sleep this late, are you sure you're feeling alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine thank you." She lied. Something wasn't right, and she could feel it. She couldn't place it, but Spyro was in trouble. It was the same feeling that had kept her awake last night, only stronger. She hated this uncomfortable feeling, but knew it would go away as soon as Spyro and the rest of her friends came walking through her door to tell her how it went.

Cynder had a quick lunch and lounged under a large tree by the portal to dragon shores, where she lay watching the clouds roll lazily by.

As she felt herself drifting off to sleep, she heard the portal activate, and hum with the sound of a massive energy spike, usually meaning that many beings were traveling through it at once.

She sat up and turned to watch who it could be coming through with so many others. She was surprised to see Ignitus and Terrador step through, their wings drooping from fatigue, then the rest of their class joined them.

Cynder jumped up excitedly and ran the few feet toward them.

"Elder Ignitus! What are you doing back so early?" she asked happily, not really caring for the answer, just happy her friends were back.

"No reason young one, where is Cyril and Voltier?" he asked urgently, avoiding her initial question

"In the temple I think..." She said as they hurried past her.

She found Ember and Flame further back in the crowd, and ran to join them.

Once she got closer to them, she realized that they looked terrible, as did everyone else.

Their eyes were bloodshot, and some parts of them were wet with the sea water from the sinking ship.

"Oh god Cynder!" Ember said as she flung herself onto her, hugging her tightly. Flame was a tad more reserved than his girlfriend, but greeted her much the same way.

"What happened to you guys?" She asked curious as to why they seemed so happy to see her, when it was they who left in the first place.

"Some kind of monster attacked, and sank the ship, so we all had to fly back, for eight hours straight..." Flame answered wearily

Cynder's worst fear was confirmed, she knew her gut would never lie to her.

"Well as long as you guys are ok...where's Spyro?" she asked

Ember and Flames eyes widened in alertness, they hadn't seen Spyro since the ship was attacked!

"He stayed back to fight that thing!" Ember remembered.

"He said he would be right behind us!" She added panicked as they stopped and began walking down the line of their tired classmates calling his name, and asking if anyone had seen him, or Amber for that matter.

"No one has seen him..." Ember said sadly.

Cynder's guilt was unbearable, she was kicking herself for not acting on her feelings, and now Spyro was missing after some kind of monster attacked them. The Dark Master had to be involved in with that monster attack, he just had to be. It was hard to explain, ever since Spyro saved her from the dark master's power, she had terrible nightmares, and just a general uneasiness whenever he had some evil plan in the works, or when his influence was felt outside convexity, the same feelings she had been having ever since they left on this little vacation.

"Maybe he just took longer than he thought he would to kill that thing." Flame said optimistically.

They leaned against the tree where Cynder had been before they arrived, and waited for Spyro to return.

They waited, and waited...and waited. The sun was giving off its last rays of sunlight as Flame awoke between Ember and Cynder. Spyro still hadn't come back, and they began to worry, no one more than Cynder.

They went to find the elders, in the hope that maybe they had some idea as to where Spyro was, thinking maybe they had sent him on an extra mission, as they sometimes did, and kept it under wraps.

Flame found Ignitus in his chambers, resting his wings on blocks of ice, having not flown for such a long continuous time.

"Elder Ignitus, where is Spyro?" Flame asked with Ember and Cynder behind him.

Ignitus brow furrowed with worry, Spyro should have returned by now... but he quickly changed his expression, so as to not worry the young dragons.

"He will return soon young ones, he was fighting a rather large monster. He can take care of himself, he should be back tomorrow." Ignitus said reassuringly, he had a natural talent for that sort of thing.

Cynder returned to her room for the night while Ember and Flame returned to Spyro's cave.

She still couldn't shake the feeling that Ignitus was lying to them. But why would he lie? He has always had their best interest in mind, and would protect all of them with his life. Cynder debated both sides of her internal struggle as she lay in her darkened room, waiting as always to fall asleep.

She could see Spyro lying on his back, his wings mangled, bleeding and his body infected with cuts and bruises. He was calling out for her...

"Cynder...help me...please..." He whispered as his breathing became more erratic and shallow.

"Spyro! What happened, where are you?" She pleaded desperately

Cynder watched the life fade from his eyes as he mouthed the words 'I love you'

"No! Spyro hang on please!"

Spyro's body went limp and lifeless as he melted into the ground and disappeared, leaving nothing but a pool of blood where he once was.

Cynder sat up in bed in a cold sweat, seeing the sunlight shine through her window.

'Well, at least its morning...' she thought looking out onto the clear blue sky and the days activities already taking place. She looked up at the sun.

"Damnit, I sleep till noon again..."

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_Earlier That Day..._

Spyro waited for the light at the end of the tunnel that he had always heard signaled the entrance into the afterlife. He was actually kind of excited about being dead, he'd finally get to meet his parents...he had so many questions for them!

He couldn't see, hear, smell touch or taste anything, he was completely numb, but he could still think clearly.

'I guess this is what being dead feels like...I wonder how I died...I was on a boat, fighting that troll over water. That's it, I must have drowned.' he thought as he still waited for some sign as to weather he would end up in heaven or hell.

Then a strange feeling began to wash over him, starting at his chest, and sweeping all the way down to his feet and the tips of his horns. It was just that, feeling. He could feel his arms...then his legs, but they weren't as sensitive as he remembered. It was like he could move his arm, but he couldn't feel it if he hit something. And then the feeling in his wings, oh god his wings! They burned and ached with the most excruciating pain he had ever felt.

The next sense to return and subsequently be violated was taste. All he could taste was salt, so much so that it made him gag, and vomit up a massive amount of salt water. Multiple times, he heaved up what felt like gallons of salt water for a few minutes, then finally he could breathe without protest from his lungs.

After a few deep breaths, his sense of smell returned, but he couldn't smell anything but the salt water he coughed up out of his lungs.

Soon, his skin sensitivity returned to the point where he could actually feel the surface on which he was sprawled. He clawed his forefoot into the surface with all the energy he had left, despite the roaring protest from his limbs, trying to determine where he was without sight.

'Sand? Is heaven a beach?' he thought through the pain, and then he felt something wash up to his waist, and then retreat, before starting once more. It was then that his hearing returned and he recognized the sound of waves crashing on the beach, and realized that water was what was washing over his stomach.

He forced his eyes open, and he was blinded by a white light, causing him to shut the quickly, and squint until his eyes adjusted.

Soon he could make out a blurry blue sky, the sandy beach on which he lay, and the various tropical plants growing near the shore.

Spyro's strength was slowly fading away again, and he felt as though he would slip into unconscious. His eyes began to close again, but not before he saw a set of white scaled legs walking toward him as he passed out.

'I guess I'm still alive..."

**Ok, so no one knows what happened to Spyro, not even the elders, but he's not down for the count yet! how did he get to that island? and who is the on the island with him? questions will be answered next chap, ya digg?**

**peace!**


	8. Chapter 8 Bad Company

**CHAPTER 8- BAD COMPANY**

The days dragged on at the dragon temple, as Spyro's friends and classmates began to lose faith in the guardians story that Spyro just took a little longer than anticipated fighting a monster.

The declining morale was most apparent in Spyro's three closest friends, Ember, Flame and Cynder. Ignitus' promise of Spyro's next day return soon faded into a distant memory.

Since summer was well underway, all that the three of them did was wait by the portal, for their lost friend to return. But their vigilance was in vain, as Spyro never walked through the portal, like they so wished that he would.

Soon, Ember and Flame began showing up at the portal less frequently but Cynder was there religiously, rain or shine, she was determined to be the first to see Spyro when he returned.

The days turned into weeks...and the Guardians began to worry about her as they watched her from the temple balcony.

"Still no word about Spyro from dragon shores...I'm beginning to fear that the worst has happened." Terrador said solemnly walking behind Cyril and Ignitus as they gazed at their little Cynder, still holding out hope for her friends return.

"It certainly looks that way..." Cyril said sadly, realizing as they all already had, that as time wore on, the chances of Spyro coming back alive dwindled.

Flame and Ember walked up toward the tree in the dark where they saw Cynder asleep against it next to a fire she had made, apparently intending to stay there all night.

She awoke hearing their footsteps and greeted them with a smile, even though she was exhausted.

"Hey Cynder, are you coming in?" Flame asked as Ember set down a basket of food for her, since she barely ever left the portal's side.

"No, I have a good feeling about tomorrow morning." she said trying to maintain her spirits, even though every day that went by, took a little bit of her hope with it.

Flame and Ember exchanged worried glances, and sat down beside her.

"Cynder...Its been a week since Spyro was supposed to return...don't you think its time for you to come home?" Ember said as comforting and considerately as possible, knowing that her friend was in a very fragile emotional state.

Cynder shot a glare at Ember for even suggesting she leave her vigil.

"No, I dont, he is coming back!" She snapped, knowing what she was getting at.

"Ok Cynder, this is your decision, but at least eat something will you?" Flame said diffusing the situation.

He and Ember left toward his cave, walking in the bright moonlight of the large full moon and smaller moon in the skies.

They walked tails intertwined like they sometimes did, and Ember broke the silence with a tough question, one that Flame had personally been avoiding.

"Do you think...that Spyro is..." She couldn't bring herself to complete her sentence, but he knew what she was asking. It was tough for him to even think about such a proposition.

"It...it doesn't look good Ember..." he said making sure his tears didn't form by looking up at the sky.

They walked back to the cave in silence and went to sleep without a word. Ember was facing out toward Spyro's side of the cave, all of his things just the way he had left them. She felt a tear form in her left eye, and run down her muzzle and drop onto the pillow on which she lay. As much as she didnt want to believe it, it looked like the Dark Master had finally succeeded where all others had failed...It seemed as though Flame was right, and Spyro the dragon, was no more.

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Warmth. He could feel it on his stomach, growing steadily more intense as time passed. As he regained his senses once more, he opened his eyes and focused on the source of the heat, which was a small bundle of sticks and brush burning in an organized pile.

He was still very weak, but strong enough now to lift his head and look around. The stars in the sky were brilliant and the two moons were as full as he had ever seen them.

"Your awake, thats good."

He whirled around on the ground, hitting his mangled wings in the process, causing him to yelp in pain as he stopped just short of seeing the owner of the familiar voice.

"Easy now! You dont want to hurt yourself anymore than you already have." the voice said. it was female, that much he could tell, but it sounded oddly familiar.

"Who are you?" Spyro demanded in a raspy voice

"Who do you think I am?" she responded

Spyro thought hard about the voice he had just heard, he had to place it...it was so familiar...

'No...It cant be, please let it not be...' he thought as her craned his neck to reveal none other than...

Amber.

Spyro sprung to his feet with a renewed sense of anger, remembering what she did on the boat.

"What the hell are you doing here?" He snapped glaring at her.

"I saw you fighting that thing, and then it smashed you against the boat. It looked like your wings were broken, so I grabbed you and we floated here. Theres the door we floated here on." she said motioning toward the large wooden door that was made into somewhat of a shelter.

"Why didnt you just fly us to shore with the others?" He asked shortly

"No offense Spyro, but you are way too heavy for me to carry, let alone fly with." She said calmly

He considered her words, but was still upset about the events of the night before.

"You shouldnt have done that, you should have gone with the others to safety." Spyro said sternly

"I couldnt just leave you there to die."

"Oh Really? Since when do you care about me?" He said refering to the incidents on the ship. She couldnt explain why, she honestly had no idea why she did what she did.

Amber had nothing to say, she just looked away from him.

He turned his back to her and began walking away from her camp down the beach of the deserted island they had washed up on.

Amber lay her head down on her forepaws by her fire and began to cry. She had no idea what was wrong with her, and moreover, the only other intellegent life on this godforesaken island was mad at her for something she felt like she was forced to do.

Spyro's wings were cut and broken, and she knew this. She had treated the cuts as best she could while he was unconscious, but there was only so much she could do with salt water and a sea sponge. She knew he could get and infection out there, but she choose to let him walk away, and pray that he would at least forgive her enough and have enough common sense to realize that the only way they will survive here is if they cooperate.

As he walked he remembered a song he had heard on the cruise ship, whose lyrics seemed to fit his entire life. With it freshly stuck in his head, he began to hum it, then sing it to himself as he walked.

_"I walk a lonely road, The only one that I have ever known  
Don't know where it goes  
But it's home to me and I walk alone"_

He continued down the beach lost in his thoughts, with only the crashing waves as a soundtrack to his song. He thought about how long he had been here, how long _she _had been with him, and everything she had ever said to him. Was it all a lie?

_"I walk this empty street  
On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams  
Where the city sleeps  
and I'm the only one and I walk alone"_

He missed Cynder, Flame and Ember, and god help him, even the guardians, each with their strange quirks that made them so hilarious to watch argue with each other after school. He tried to move his wings but the slightest attempt was met with crippling pain, making him fall to his knees gasping for air.

_"I walk alone  
I walk alone_

_I walk alone  
I walk a..._

_My shadow's the only one that walks beside me  
My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating  
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me  
'Til then I walk alone"_

As he thought more about what Amber did, he just became even more furious with her. 'How could she do that? She couldn't have known him for more than a few hours and she goes and makes out with him?' thoughts like these invaded Spyro's mind constantly as he trekked along the dark sandy beach. He turned to look back and saw that the fire Amber had started was now just a speck in the distance as the island took a natural curve to the other side. He took one last look in disgust before he pressed on.

_"Ah-ah, Ah-ah, Ah-ah, Aaah-ah,  
Ah-ah, Ah-ah, Ah-ah_

_I'm walking down the line  
That divides me somewhere in my mind  
On the border line  
Of the edge and where I walk alone_

_Read between the lines  
What's fucked up and everything's alright  
Check my vital signs  
To know I'm still alive and I walk alone_

He stopped at what he had guessed was the opposite side of the island and looked out into the vast sea of stars overhead, and wondering if his friends were looking at the same thing. He sat on his haunches and continued staring at the stars, wishing he could get off this hellhole island. He would bet his last gem that the dark master was responsible for his predicament, as far as being stuck on the island anyway. He cursed the fact that he had let his emotions get in the way of his fight with that sea monster.

'If I hadn't been so distracted, I could've killed that thing easy, and I'd be back in my cave laughing about it with Flame and Ember.' he thought as he gingerly lay down on his stomach, wondering if everyone else knew he was ok.

_I walk alone  
I walk alone_

_I walk alone  
I walk a..._

_My shadow's the only one that walks beside me  
My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating  
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me  
'Til then I walk alone_

_Ah-ah, Ah-ah, Ah-ah, Aaah-ah  
Ah-ah, Ah-ah_

_I walk alone  
I walk a..._

_I walk this empty street  
On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams  
Where the city sleeps  
And I'm the only one and I walk a..._

_My shadow's the only one that walks beside me  
My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating  
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me  
'Til then I walk alone..."_

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"GAUL!!" The Dark Master roared from his prison, his normal purple beam of energy turning all shades of red.

The ape king appeared before his master, curious as to why he had been summoned so harshly.

"Yes my lord?"

"Did you or did you not use the sea troll to destroy Spyro?"

"Yes master, the troll reported him to have drowned in the great sea."

"Then he must be blind! Because that damned dragon is still alive!" The Dark Master roared as a dark beam of energy shot from his energy beam and embraced Gaul, causing him to fall to his knees in pain.

"You have failed me you incompetent primate!" he said intensifying his beam

"My...lord...I am truly...sorry, please forgive me!" He pleaded through the immense burning sensation.

He relented and Gaul got to his feet, dusting himself off.

"I don't care how you do it, but I want you to kill Spyro, and this time, bring me proof that he is dead! If you fail me again, you will not live long enough to regret it! Do you understand me?!"

"Yes sir!" Gaul said disappearing into a portal behind him, to ready a search and destroy party.

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A storm had swept into the valley which the dragons lived, and it had been raining heavily for the past few hours.

Flame lay with Ember who was reading and suddenly got out of bed.

"Where are you going Flame?" she asked

"To make sure Cynder isn't waiting at that damn portal in this storm."

Ember looked at him like he was crazy.

"Cynder has enough sense to come in out of the rain."

Flame rolled his eyes.

"I just want to make sure...She's been acting really strange lately."

He stepped outside and was almost blown back into his cave by the howling winds.

He forced his way to the top oh the hill, and was shocked at what he saw.

"I don't believe it. CYNDER!" he shouted charging up to her, leaning into the wind.

She couldnt hear him over the thunder, wind and rain until he was right next to her.

"Cynder what the hell are you doing out here?!"

"You know what I'm doing!"

"This is crazy, Cynder you'll catch your death out here!"

"I'm fine! I don't need your help! Spyro is coming back! I know he is! He has to!"

Flame was at his wits end with her, she wouldn't even consider the likely possibility that Spyro isn't going to return. He tried hinting at it, but she just shut him out. He was tired of this, he had to break it to her bluntly.

"Cynder, Spyro isnt coming back!" he yelled, even saying this hurt him just as much as it hurt her.

She looked at him in shock.

"How dare you! He IS coming back, he wouldn't leave us defenseless like this!" she yelled as they were both continually pelted with rain. Flame could see that his words had struck a very emotional chord with her, as she was on the verge of breaking down all together.

"Weather he is alive or not, do you think he would want you to spend your whole life waiting on him in a raging storm!?" Flame asked with rain and his own tears mixing on his face.

Cynder looked into his eyes, and then collapsed in his arms crying.

"Shhh...its ok Cynder...I know it hurts...I know..." he cooed to her, letting his tears flow as well.

"I...just cant believe it...He cant be gone Flame, he cant..." she sobbed back

"C'mon Cynder...we need to get you inside before you get sick..." He said helping her up and walking her back to her room in the temple. They were immediately greeted by the worried guardians. Flame explained her situation and they decided to hold of questions till morning.

"Are you going to be ok through the night Cynder?" Flame asked in a caring tone.

"Yes...I'll be ok, thanks Flame." she said, having calmed down considerably.

"I'll be back first thing tomorrow with Ember ok?" He said leaving

"Ok...goodnight Flame."

"Night Cynder." he said closing the door and heading back to his cave in the rain.

Cynder had another one of those weird feelings. Everyone else had given up hope, but for some reason, something wouldn't let her.

She lay there in the dark trying to sleep, but found something calling her back outside. she looked out of her window and saw that the rain had stopped, and she knew that Flame had probably told the elders to guard her door, in case she tried to go back outside again, so she climbed through her window.

She glided through the night air to the portal, and heard it hum, as if someone was coming through it. her heart raced and she knew why she felt she had to be here.

Out of the portal, stepped the person she had been waiting for all these days.

Spyro stepped out of the portal, just as proud and handsome as she remembered.

"Spyro! I knew you'd come back!" she said hugging him tightly as he returned the favor.

"Where have you been?" she asked happily.

"Eh, we'll talk about that later, but before we do, I need you to do something to for me."

"What?"

"I need you to wake up."

"Huh? What does that..." but then it hit her, she sat up quickly and looked at her surroundings, just her dark room. It had all been a cruel dream.

She lay back down and silently let her tears soak her cushion, until a dreamless sleep settled over her for the night.

**ok, so green day of course owns the lyrics. everyone thinks spyor is dead! cynder is still on the fence, will she realize the truth? and what will spyro do about being stuck on an island with Amber? and what of gauls army? too many questions! answers next chap!**


	9. Chapter 9 A Hero's Goodbye

**CHAPTER-9 A HERO'S GOODBYE**

Cynder was awakened by the creaking old hinges of her bedroom door being opened.

She slightly opened one eye, looking to see who was making the noise.

Ember's muzzle poked through the crack in the door as she peered inside.

"Cynder are you awake?" She whispered as the rest of her head came through the door.

Cynder smiled and raised her head off of her cushion, and stretched her stiff legs and wings.

"Yes...I am now..." Her eyes were red and puffy, which Ember noticed as soon as she entered her room.

"You've been crying huh?" She asked knowing the answer

Cynder looked away from her and laughed nervously.

"Its ok Cynder, I have been too..." She said sitting next to her.

As she began to relive the memories of last night, her emotions overwhelmed her and she began to cry once more, although this time, she was far short of the hysterics of the night before. Seeing her friend like this, was enough to bring Ember to tears as well.

"Where is Flame?" Cynder asked, remembering that he had said he would come by as well.

"It's his shift on predator patrol until dark, he'll probably be by later." she said laying down on Cynders cushion, as well. It was easily big enough for two dragons.

"Spyro's really gone...isnt he?" Cynder whispered sadly

Ember frowned and bit her bottom lip slightly before answering, as if trying to find the easiest way to break this to her.

"Y-Yes...Thats what the guardians say." She said softly as her eyes welled up once more.

Cynder broke down almost immediately upon hearing her words.

Ember hugged her close as she let everything go. Cynders tears flowed freely as she comforted her, nothing but the sound of her sobs filled the room.

Ember lay her head on Cynders and began thinking about all of the memories she had made with Spyro. All of the late night talks after Spyro would get done with his training...the few dates they had been on, back before she became interested in Flame...the multiple bimbos he dated while he explored his popularity with the females, it was all almost too much for her to think about. One thing she remembered about him was that no matter how popular he got, he was always the same dragon, day in and day out, he never let it get to his head. She remembered the countless times he had saved the realms, and the numerous times the elders decided to honor him in one way or another. He had done so much for all dragons everywhere, not just those in dragon village. It just didn't seem right that one giant sea monster could beat Spyro, after all the training he had been through, it didn't sit right with Cynder, but when everyone around you has given up hope, what else can you do but join them?

After about an hour of crying, and sharing memories, Ember stood up from the cushion and dried her eyes.

"Cynder there is something you need to see." She said as Cynder focused her puffy red eyes on her

"What?"

"I don't know... but the guardians told us to meet them on the highest sea cliff in dragon shores. Flame will be there as well, we've only got a few minutes."

Cynder and Ember walked out of the temple at a slow, nervous pace. Neither one of them knowing what the guardians had planned.

Flame met them at the portal and they all walked through together. At the top of a cliff overlooking the beach and the great sea, they saw the guardians standing around a large object covered by a sheet, and the rest of their class was standing in front of them.

Small, quiet conversations suddenly stopped as the three of them walked toward the elder dragons as their classmates parted so they could get through.

Cynder's eyes swelled again as she began to piece together what all of this was about.

They stopped in front of the covered object and Ignitus stepped forward.

"Thank you for coming Cynder, I know this was hard for you to face." he said comfortingly

She could say nothing as she turned away and her friends followed her to the front of the crowd.

"Young Dragons and Dragoness'...we are gathered here at the edge of the great sea to say good bye..." Ignitus paused, he hadnt anticipated this to be so hard.

"...to a hero. One known by all of us, and who defended us all countless times from limitless evil. But as the old wisdom states...those who live by the sword...die by the sword. It is not for us to know, the plans of the Great Creator, or why he chose to take Spyro from this world so early in his life. It seems as though when the Creator sends down an angel...eventually...he must call him back. To commemorate his life, and the glory of his conquests for the dragon race, we christen this monument in his name." Ignitus finished, and not a moment to soon, as he fought back his own tears, the crowd having already broken down at the beginning of his words. He grabbed the sheet and pulled it off, revealing an exact replica of Spyro on a pedestal, his confident smile gracing his face as he looked out over the great sea.

"This monument is hereby dedicated to all dragons who have been, or ever will be lost at sea." Cyril took over from Ignitus.

The crowd dispersed and mournfully went back to dragon village, leaving only Ember, Cynder and Flame at the statue.

"It looks just like him..." Flame said through his tears, the least hysterical of the three.

"Yeah...he'd be proud..." Ember said as Flame held her close.

Cynder was a different story, it was all she could do just to look at his face again. This wasn't the way she wanted to see him...she wanted to see his real face as she held it close to hers, in a welcome home hug that she had been praying that fate would give her the chance to use. But fate is often a cruel mistress, and she was not doing anyone favors it seemed.

_When all you got to keep is strong  
Move along, move along like I know you do  
And even when your hope is gone  
Move along, move along just to make it through _

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Spyro was awakened by a sharp pain in his left wing, jarring him awake with a loud yelp as the pain only intensified as he fought to stand.

'Ow ow ow ow! What in the ancestors name?!' He thought as he struggled to turn his head enough to see the source of his pain.

He couldn't turn enough to see his wings in the position they were in, so to his own chagrin, he extended his left wing and saw through the burning pain of his broken bones that a rather sizable crab had its claw clenched unmercifully to the tip of his sail.

Spyro tried to shake it off, but the slightest movement of his wings woud drive him insane with agony, so he narrowed his options down to one...ask Amber to help.

He didn't like that idea at all, but he didn't have a choice. The pain from that devil crabs claw wasn't going to let up any time soon, and he couldn't burn it off, for fear of hurting himself even more, or worse, beyond flight capabilities.

He gritted his teeth, and took off down the direction he had walked the night before, going as fast as his tired legs would allow him to go.

As he ran, he prayed that his harsh words werent enough to make her fly off without him, something she was entirely capable of, since she was relatively uninjured.

He saw the shelter she had made and a white figure underneath it, and breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn't in his nature to hold a grudge for very long, it just wasn't in him.

As he got closer, he barged into her camp and ran to her shelter, but finding to his dismay that what he thought was Amber was just a white sheet she had been sleeping on. He looked around the camp for her tracks and saw a set of footprints deep in the sand. The kind left when a young dragon jumps into the air and flaps their wings to get a better start at flying.

"She's gone. I guess its no more than I deserve... I was acting like a huge jerk..." He said sadly as the crab forcefully made his presence known once more, causing him to bite down hard, and hang his head down.

"Well, you were being kind of a jerk." a voice behind him said. He turned to see Amber land behind him with a basket full of various fruits, smiling the beautiful one Spyro remembered from his memories with her, back when they were dating.

"But If anyone should be sorry, it should be me. I acted like a total whore and I dont know what came over me, and for that I am really sorry Spyro." She said putting down the basket and looking down at his feet in shame.

He smiled and took a step towards her, causing her to look up.

"You don't have to worry about that anymore...its in the past." he said reassuringly.

She smiled a little as she looked back into his eyes.

"I don't know why I did it...I don't even like Dwight...its a miracle I can even remember his name." She laughed lightly as she addressed a more burning question on her mind.

"You know Spyro, you were pretty upset with me last night. Why the sudden change?"

'Gods above I thought she'd never ask!' he thought.

"Ah, well you know...its not good to hold a grudge...and um..." He tried to think of better reasons but with one more hard pinch of the crab he finally said what was really on his mind.

He whipped around and showed her the problem. The crab was not only pinching as hard as it could, but it was also clamped over one of the cuts on his wing, increasing the pain exponentially.

"Please get this miserable thing off of me! I cant reach it and its been killing me since I woke up this morning!" He shouted as he winced in fear as to how she would go about it.

Amber looked at it for a second, then bit the offending crustaceans claw off at the joint. With the creature in her mouth, she flung it back into the water from whence it came.

With the crab detached from its claw, it fell off his wing and into the sand.

"There, all better!" she said, even kissing the red spot it had left for good measure.

Spyro breathed a sigh of relief and turned back around to her.

"Thank you so much Amber."

"No problem Spyro." She said laying down under the shade of the shelter with her basket of food.

"What are you waiting for? Aren't you hungry?" She asked looking at him standing in the blazing sun.

Spyro nodded and joined her in the shade that was barely big enough for the both of them.

"Where did you find a basket?" Spyro asked spewing crumbs from his mouth.

"It floated here with us, along with this blanket. Sometimes things wash up on the beach from the wreck, so keep an eye out." She said ignoring the shower of food coming from him as he merrily chomped on what she had found.

He nodded as he continued to eat, as she did, although at a much slower pace than he.

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Gaul assembled his minions in a cave deep in the forbidden forest, all of whom would ride dreadwings to search for Spyro from the air.

"Is everyone clear on what we are looking for?" Gaul shouted

"Yes Sir!" They answered back.

"And what do you do if you find him?"

"Signal the others and wait for backup!" They answered loudly again.

"Exactly. Do not, under any circumstances, engage the purple dragon alone! Though he may be injured, he is still very powerful. Understood?"

"Yes sir!"

"Good. Now saddle up, and find that purple pest!" He shouted to them as they mounted their dreadwings and took off into the night over the ocean. It would be about a days journey from their position to the shipwreck site, but they were determined not to fail their master like the sea troll had.

**Ok, all american rejects owns that little block of their song that i used. so, there you go. Spyro has forgiven Amber, Gauls army is on the hunt, and Ember, Flame and the Guardians have convinced Cynder that Spyro is never coming back! Will she give up and accept what everyone else is telling her? those answers will be revealed eventually...tell me what you think so far pleeze!**


	10. Chapter 10 Wind Beneath His Wings

**CHAPTER 10- WIND BENEATH HIS WINGS**

They ate what Amber had gathered and rested under the shelter until the scorching midday heat broke and began to cool off. While resting, Spyro had a chance to get some questions answered about their unfortunate predicament.

"Where are we?" He asked looking out onto the beach and the crystal clear blue waves crashing against the shore.

"On an island silly." She joked taking another pineapple from the basket.

Spyro rolled his eyes and smiled at her.

"You know what I mean."

"I don't know...after the boat sank, we must have drifted all night. once we got near the island, the waves flipped the door over and I had to drag you up to the beach, before _I_ passed out." she explained taking a bite of the fruit.

"Wow...I had no idea how I got here at first...I don't think I ever thanked you for saving me." He said embarrassed because of his rudeness the night before.

"Its ok Spyro, you were under a lot of stress..."

"No Amber, I was acting like a hatchling and I'm sorry. Thank you for pulling me to shore, and now, to show my thanks, I'll find food for us at dinner, ok?" he said.

"Spyro you really dont have to-"

"Nope, too late for that, I'm doing it." He said quickly as she laughed.

"Ok, ok you win." she said eating the last bit of her food.

They emerged from under the door and looked around. the beach was the only open spot on the island, the rest was thick jungle.

"So...You weren't hurt in the attack were you?" Spyro asked

"A few cuts and bruises, but nothing major, why?"

"Well, if you can fly, why don't you just fly to shore and get help?" he asked

"For starters, I don't know which direction leads to shore, and which leads to more of the great sea, and on top of that, I cant fly forever. And even if by some miracle I made it to shore, there's no guarantee I'll be able to lead them back to this particular island. Its not really that big." she explained, extinguishing Spyro's hopes of a quick rescue.

"oh...fair enough...I guess the first thing we need to do is find some fresh water. Have you found any?"

"No, all I've found so far is a few pineapple, banana, and coconut trees, but they wont last forever."

Spyro mulled this over in his head as he walked along the beach, letting the waves wash over their feet as they walked beside each other.

"I don't think we're going to find any water out here...I think we have to go into the jungle." He said looking toward the thick growth of exotic flowers and plants.

"What makes you think there's water in the jungle?"

"There could be a freshwater spring or something." he said walking towards the treeline. As he walked, he felt a tug on his tail.

He looked back to see Amber with his tail in her mouth, holding his progress.

"Whoa mister, you aren't going in there like that." she said dropping his spaded tail tip in the sand.

He turned his head to her and asked

"What? Why? Whats wrong with me?"

"Look at your wings! They're a mess! I'm gonna have to clean them before you go anywhere."

Spyro raised an eyebrow and turned all the way around

"Clean them how?" he asked cautiously

"I'll show you, lay down by the beach on your stomach, I'll be right back." she said bounding toward the shelter and came back with a tan squishy thing.

Spyro lay in one of the shallow tide pools, the water coming up to the middle of his torso.

He tried to relax as he watched her soak the sea sponge with the salty sea water and brought it over to him, and rubs it on his cuts.

"What are you going to-OW! AH! That stings!" Spyro snapped as he flinched and withdrew his wings and glared at her.

"Dont look at me like that! If I dont clean your cuts and set your bones, you'll never fly again." she shot back holding the sponge as small drops of his blood mixed with the water he was laying in.

He bit his lip as she scrubbed the dirt from his cuts.

"Geez, this was easier when you were unconscious." she teased as she rubbed down his wings with salt water.

"Thanks Doc." He said sarcastically

"Where did you learn to do this?" he continued

"What, did you think I've been doing nothing since we last saw each other?" she asked

"I've been studying medicine, I'm going to be a healer."

She put the sponge down, declaring his cuts clean for now, she began to touch places around his wing, asking him to tell her where it hurt.

"nope...nope...Ow!" Spyro said through his clenched teeth.

"okay...lets see here..." she said exploring more of his wings as he lay in the cool water.

After a few minutes, she stopped touching him and grabbed both wing joints with her front claws

"ok, the reason you cant move your wings is because both of your joints have been dislocated...the only way to fix that, is to set them back into joint. luckily, only one of your bones is broken, but I can make a splint for it. Spyro this may hurt a bit." she said

Spyro braced himself, eyes closed, jaw clenched.

"Do it!" He hissed

Amber pushed with all her strength as Spyro yelped and growled in pain as he clawed into the sand in discomfort, for what felt like hours.

"Almost...there..." Amber huffed as she gave his wings one final heave, hearing two loud cracking sounds.

"Got it..." she said falling down next to him.

"Thank god!" he said breathing a heavy sigh of relief.

"okay...try to move them." She said catching her breath.

Spyro braced for crippling pain, but was met with a mild aggravation at best.

he spread them to his full wingspan.

"That feels much better! how did you do that?" he asked

"Medical studies, remember?" she answered

"All we need to do now is put a splint on your broken bone." she said walking to the edge of the wilderness and breaking of sticks and collecting vines.

she brought them to him and began to tie the sticks around his injured wing with the vine and double knotted it, biting off the extra length of vine. She was careful not to touch any of the sensitive spots on his wing. He looked at her and she returned his gaze, their eyes caught in each others, and Spyro felt that burning sensation in his chest again.

"Alright, all done. now lets find some water." Amber said smiling at him and breaking the stare as she followed him into the thick brush.

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Cynder passed all of Cyrils exams with flying colors, even though her mind was still mired in Spyro's demise.

Ember and Flame were both just as depressed, but they carried on with their daily routine as best they could.

After a long day of tests, Cynder was finally able to go to her room for the first time since leaving for class that morning.

She lay on her bed and thought about the last time she saw Spyro in person...

It was after she had bumped into him in the hallway, they made dinner plans. It wasn't much, just sheep in the field, but it was good enough for her. She wasn't high maintenance like most dragons here age were.

They met in the pasture and cought two sheep, and lay down next to each other, eating and talking.

That's all it took to make her happy, just some time spent with him. Her memory of her last encounter with him was just as vivid as if it happened yesterday, which made it all the more painful to relive.

as she lay on her bed, she began to fall into a well deserved sleep.

she dreamt she was in space, floating along helplessly.

"Hi Cynder!"

That voice...it couldn't be...its impossible...

She turned her head in the weightless environment and saw a set of smiling teeth, and two purple eyes floating just above them. A few seconds later, the rest of the purple dragons body appeared floating next to her.

"Spyro! I've missed you so much! Everyone thinks you're dead..."

"Do you?" he asked

"I didn't, but if I say I don't, everyone will think I'm crazy...now I don't know what to think, and this is only a dream..."

"Only a dream? If this was only a dream, could I take you back to your frozen fortress for a little sleigh ride?"

They were immediately transported to the crystal fortress where Cynder used to assert her harsh will on all of those beneath her.

They found themselves in a large sleigh pulled by two large wolly mammoth.

"Well...yes. That kind of supports my, 'this is just a dream' theory." she said

"Cynder you're shivering. come under here." he said raising a large gold wing and she curled up close to him, as happy as she had ever been.

"Thanks Spyro...I forgot how many hundreds of degrees below zero it must be..." she said rubbing her face against his chest.

"Oh Spyro...No one believes me when I tell them I think you're alive...what am I supposed to do?"

"Simple. all you have to do is wake up." He said smiling

Cynder raised her head quickly and looked at Spyro as he withdrew his wing.

"No, don't say that! Every time you do I-" and in an instant, she shot up from her bed and was back in her room, the morning sun shining in that Saturday.

"Damnit..." she whispered as a fresh vision of Spyro was now planted in her minds eye.

she rose from her bed and decided to ask Ember and Flame if they were having the same weird dream.

she met them at the tree they always used to eat at when they were younger.

"Hey Cynder, whats up?" Flame asked as Ember came from the other direction

"Guys...Spyro is still alive." she said bluntly

Ember and Flame looked at her as though she was crazy, then changed their expression to concern

"Cynder...I know its been stressful with the Guardians tests and loosing Spyro, but you have to accept that he's gone, and he isn't coming back. Otherwise, you'll never recover from this." Flame explained calmly

"That's what you think?!" Cynder snapped glaring at him

"That we should just forget about him?!" she completed

"No! That's not what I meant! I'll never forget Spyro, I loved him like a brother and he's gonna be in my heart until the day I die, so don't you make the mistake that _you_are the only one who misses him!" Flame yelled back, causing Ember to get between them.

"Stop! Do you think this is how Spyro wants us to remember him? By fighting every time he is brought up?" she shouted over the both of them.

"Ember he is alive! He's been talking to me in my dreams!" she pleaded with her

"Cynder...you are really stressed out from everything that's happened these past few weeks...just take a rest, relax and enjoy the weekend. I have dreams about him too, but I doesn't make me think he's alive." she said concerned for her friends mental state.

"But Ember..."

"Please Cynder, do this for me?" she asked

she wore a defeated expression as she nodded and walked back toward the temple alone.

'Maybe I am going crazy...' she thought sadly as she drug herself back to her room

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The wind blew past the matted fur sticking out of Gauls armor as he flew lead on his dreadwing, followed by his ape army.

The sun was rising in front of them as they tore across the sky over the ocean. A familiar, and hated odor crossed Gauls nose.

'Dragons...' He thought as he narrowed his eyes, spotting a large black spot over the sea. It was the site of the shipwreck.

"We're getting close!" He shouted over his shoulder through the howling wind.

"You cant hide from me Dragon." He said smiling evilly.

**Gaul is getting close! and everyone thinks (herself included) Cynder may be steadily descending into madness.**

**and on a side note, I kinda feel a lemon would fit in this story, but I dont want to have to raise the rating...What do you, the readers want to see?**


	11. Chapter 11 Update, ya digg?

**Ok guys and girls, chapter 11 of this story is in the M section for explicit sexual content. if that isnt your cup o' tea, then just scroll down to the bottom of the page and read everything below the X's. that is really all that happens in the chapter besides Spyro getting his freak on with Amber. ok, check it out and tell me what you think!  
see ya!**


	12. Chapter 12 Cynders Journey

**CHAPTER 11- CYNDER'S JOURNEY**

She had lost count of the days since her brief altercation with Flame, but they seemed to drag on, each one the same as the last.

Cynder had flown to the top of the temple, and lay on the roof. When she wasnt in the temple, she was on top of it, looking up at the stars.

It was sunset, and the sky was a beautiful orange red. She hadnt spoken to Flame since their argument over Spyro, but she had to Ember whenever she saw her, but it was never about that most sore of subjects.

As she watched the birds fly over her, she saw something that struck her as odd. A dreadwing flew over, followed by another, then another, then another, until a whole flock of them were screeching overhead.

When she served the dark master, she remembered that dreadwings were dependent on the apes that feed and took care of them. They were filthy creatures, utterly despised by Malefor. He never used them unless he had something he needed something done immediately, otherwise they stay in the caves until he summoned them.

They werent very useful for attacks on a massive scale, but they were fast and agile, good for scouting, and finding something... or someone.

'What would dreadwings be doing out at this hour?' She thought, then it hit her like a ton of bricks.

'They're looking for Spyro!' She realized sitting up. She glided down to the ground and ran into the temple.

She burst into Ignitus chambers, startling him.

"Cynder! I must ask that you knock before you enter next time!" Ignitus said aggravated that he had been interrupted from his nightly readings.

"I'm sorry Ignitus, but Spyro is alive!" she said excitedly

He lowered his head and closed his eyes frowning.

"Cynder...not this again." he sighed

"I'm serious! He's alive and I can prove it!" she pleaded with him, hating the fact that she was being met with disbelief again.

Ignitus was still upset about Spyro's death, though he would never show it in public, or even in front of the other guardians. Cynders constant trying to convince him and others that he was still alive was wearing on his last nerve.

"No you cant Cynder! He's dead!" he snapped loudly, causing her to flinch, as if he was going to hit her. That was a reflex left over from her time under Malefor.

Realizing he had let his temper get the best of him, his expression softened with remorse.

Cynder's eyes welled up with tears as she bolted out of Ignitus' chambers.

"Cynder wait!"

She heard his words but ignored them, running as fast as her little legs could carry her out of the temple, and past the other dragons courtyard. Her vision was blurred from the tears in her eyes, she didnt know where she was going, and she didnt care. Into the forbidden forest, she charged. Cynder ran and ran until she couldnt see the torchlights of the dragon village through the trees anymore.

She stopped in a clearing and let her cheeks and eyes dry before observing her surroundings.

There was a reason they called it the forbidden forest. The only dragon who dared venture in besides the guardians, was Spyro. The trees were barren and their branches resembled skeletal fingers, reaching out into the night, and at her.

She looked around...after calming down quite a bit, she decided to try and get back to the temple. There was only one problem...When she ran into the forest, she wasnt paying attention to where she was going, so any direction could lead to the village, or deeper into the woods.

Cynder tread lightly as she went, trying to avoid the painful dead thorn vines littering the ground. She considered flying, but the canopy was so dense with dead, sharp branches that for a dragon her size, breaking through would be impossible.

She tried to burn through them, but for some reason, they refused to light.

This only did more to frighten her as the creatures of the night came to life, filling the forest with the echoes of their calls.

Cynder could feel a tremble begin to grow in her legs as she slowly kept her pace, walking through the almost pitch black forest.

She kept her head down as she began to silently fume about how everyone still doubted her.

"Stupid guardians...how could they abandon him like that? And how could Ember and Flame just accept that Spyro...is..." she couldnt finish her sentence. Even saying that Spyro was gone was like admitting defeat to her.

She heard the howl of a wild hound, that seemed to come from all around her.

A branch cracked behind her, and Cynder whipped around, peering into the darkness, her fear more heightened than ever before.

She ran headlong into the woods, not looking back until her forefoot met a very sharp splinter, making her yelp in pain as she lifted up that foot and lost her balance, skidding onto the underbrush and collecting more thorns in her side. She got up and limped to a rock and lay on her side, gasping after her sprint.

An unearthly cold settled over her as she a chill was sent straight to her very core. It was a very familiar cold...it was Malefor.

A black mist settled over the ground below her, and soon gathered into a solid mass, taking the shape of a massive dragons head with eyes like burning coals.

"Hello Cynder." it hissed with an evil smile. When he opened his mouth, it was as if the fires of hell itself were just inside his jaws.

"M-M-Malefor." she choked out as she was paralyzed with fear.

"You still remember my name. I must say I'm impressed. Tell me, did you think that I would just forget about you?"

Cynder couldnt believe her eyes. He was supposed to be trapped in convexity, and yet, here he was...or at least here his head was.

Her mouth just hung open, unable to respond.

"Whats the matter? Have you any words for an old friend?" he hissed.

"Y-you arent my friend..." she whispered

"Come now Cynder, is that any way to talk to the one who made you the most powerful beast in all the realms?"

"That is exactly what you made me! A beast!" she snapped regaining her courage

Malefor smiled, and ignored her last comment.

"And you killed Spyro!" She shouted. Her words registered in her head as soon as they left her lips. Did she just admit that Spyro was dead?

"Did I? Or was it you that let him die? Why did you not warn him about the feelings you had before he left? And up until now, you so adamantly believed he was still alive, and now look at you, accusing me of killing him. So which is it? Is he alive or dead?" He said with a malicious smile

Cynder's head felt as though it was going to explode. She had no idea what to think anymore.

Before she could respond, black tendrils began snaking their way from the mist surrounding Malefor, towards her.

As they inched up the rock closer to her, she screamed and closed her eyes.

"You arent real! You're still trapped in convexity! You cant hurt me anymore!" she shouted as she curled into a ball expecting to feel the icy chill of his evil grasp. But when it never came, she opened one eye, and Malefor was gone.

She looked around, and saw nothing, not even a trace of her evil former master.

"What was that...? Did I just imagine him?" she asked herself as nothing but the dark woods stared back at her.

She heard voices from a distance, they seemed to be in distress. They seemed to be getting closer to her, and what they were shouting became clearer. They were calling her name.

Soon, she saw Ignitus's red scales through the trees, followed by the other guardians scales as well.

"Here she is! Cynder thank the gods we found you!" Cyril said as they crashed through the trees with their massive frames.

"Are you alright young one?" Terrador asked

"Yes elder Terrador..." she said as he examined her thorn ridden side and left wing.

"Cynder, I apologize for yelling at you earlier." Ignitus said as he picked her up off the rock and took her into his arms.

"It's ok Ignitus...I was foolish to think Spyro was still alive..." She said sadly. She said that, but she thought the exact opposite. If Spyro wasnt going to come to her, she would go and find him. But if the elders suspected that she still believed he was alive, they'd never let her out of their sight.

He released a stream of fire that burned a hole in the canopy and flew back to the temple.

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Amber looked at the wing embracing her. The cuts on his wings were on their way to normal.

"Your wings are healing up nicely Spyro." she commented as she ran her foreclaw down the bone in his wing.

"I had a good doctor..." He said smiling as he wrapped his neck around hers.

She smiled as they rested in the cave she had found.

Little did they know, they were being hunted by none other...than Gaul.

_Meanwhile, on the other side of the island..._

Gaul and about twenty of his ape commanders marched into the jungle, cutting down trees and killing any animal in their way. Soon, he came upon the same freshwater spring that Spyro and Amber had found. He could smell them nearby, but he couldnt get a lock on their direction, until he caught a whiff of their pheremones.

He narrowed his eyes and smiled.

"This way! They are close!" he shouted as his troops released a war cry and pressed on.

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Amber drifted off to sleep and soon Spyro joined her.

He found himself in a white place, with no floors, ceilings, or sense of direction.

"What am I doing here?" he said aloud, although there was something familiar about this place...

Then Shaydo appeared in front of him, with a rather displeased look across his face.

"So Spyro, did you think I was joking when I told you that you and Amber could never be?" he asked

He wasnt quite sure how to respond to that, so he held his tongue.

"I told you that for a reason. To keep the both of you safe, and now that you have mated, there is no saving her this time."

"What? What does that mean?" Spyro asked, but it was too late as Shaydo disappeared and he woke up. He looked to the mouth of the cave and saw an evil, familiar figure blocking the sunlight.

His forces gathering behind him, Gaul hissed

"Hello Dragon."

**Gaul found them! showdown next chap! and how will Cynder save Spyro? answers to those questions will come!**

**Leave some reveiws!**

**see ya!**


	13. Chapter 13 The Loved

**CHAPTER 13- THE LOVED **

Spyro tried to decipher what Shaydo was talking about, but he had little time to think about it, as there were more pressing issues to attend to.

"I've come to finish the job that damn troll started." Gaul sneered raising his club.

His voice seemed so familiar to Amber, like she had heard it before.

"You can try scumbag, but if a hundred foot monster couldnt kill me, what makes you think you can?" Spyro shot confidently

He simply smiled and signaled for his men to charge.

"Amber get behind me!" he shouted as he released a column of fire that consumed three of the charging attackers.

Undeterred, they kept charging, even stepping over the charred corpses of their fallen comrades.

Spyro whipped his tail around and smashed the tip through the face of one of the apes.

He could feel the the sting of his broken bones as he moved, his hesitation allowed Gual to step in and bash him in the ribs, flinging him into the stone wall.

He focused his blurred vision, he saw Gauls forces tying up Amber.

"Get your hands off of her you damn dirty apes!" He shouted springing up, ignoring his probably broken ribs and electrified them, until they were nothing but a twitching mass of burned flesh.

Blindly charging in to help Amber, he left his side exposed again, and was met with a club to the side once more. This time, knocking him unconscious.

Gaul smiled as he realized his final victory was at hand. His hatred for Spyro and all other dragons told him to smash their heads to a bloody pulp, but his fear of Malefor stopped him from doing so. He decided to take the two of them back to Malefor, and have a little fun with his two new captives.

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Cynder sat in her room, thinking of when the best time to escape and look for Spyro would be.

It was well past sunset, and she hadnt heard the guardians talking for about an hour. She assumed they were asleep for the night, and slowly began to pry open her window slowly. She was careful about opening it, so that the old hinges wouldnt squeak, possibly alerting the elders.

As soon as the window was wide enough, she squeezed out of it and fell onto the wet grass.

She shook the dew off herself and began the trek toward the portal to dragon shores.

While walking, she thought about the consequences of her actions.

'What if I dont find him...? Oh, I better be right, or else the guardians will have me committed...' she thought somberly.

She knew that eventually, they would find out she was gone, and would probably come looking for her. But if Spyro was truly in trouble like she felt he was, then she'd take all the help available. Even if they were upset with her when they got there.

She arrived at the portal. It shone brightly in the darkness of the new moon that night.

She swallowed hard and thought one more time about what she was doing. Was this crazy? Was all this stuff about Spyro; the dreams, the feelings, all in her head? What if he really was dead, and her mind wouldnt let her realize the truth? A lot of 'what if's', but even if she was wrong, she would at least have the fact that she tried.

Her expression went from uncertainty to determination, and she stepped through the portal.

The next thing she saw was the two moons, at their fullest and shining their silvery light along the beach, making the sand a shining silver. It was beautiful...she wished Spyro could see it with her, and this feeling gave her even more resolve to make sure to find Spyro.

She looked around until she found the port from which the ship Spyro was on left. It was abandoned at this time of night, so she casually walked to the end of the dock, where a huge cruise ship should have been waiting, had it not been sunk.

On a large board on the end of the dock, was a map with the ships route and destination drawn on it, with an X in the middle, she assumed where it sank.

She tried to memorize the map, and the sea currents before she took off. After a few moments, she took to the air, flying as fast as possible. Her first stop, would be the shipwreck site.

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Spyro's head was throbbing. He tried to open his eyes, but any influx of light was too much for him to bear in his weakened state.

His sense of touch slowly returned and he realized that his forepaws were chained up, holding his already injured wings tightly to a cold steel wall.

His head was also fixed in place, not allowing him to move it to either side, keeping it straight ahead.

He tried openeing his eyes again. The light was dim, which made it easier for his eyes to adjust. He saw a white and gold blur about seven feet in front of him, chained up just like he was.

Spyro tried to use his hind legs to support him, but found the ground slick, making it hard for him to stand.

He looked closer at who was across from him. He had an idea, but prayed he wasnt correct. He focused his vision, and realized what made his heart sink. It was Amber. She looked beaten and battered, with one large gash on her right side, which was slowly dribbling blood onto her gold belly scales.

He then realized what was making the floor so slippery, it was blood. Ambers blood.

He tried to speak, but found his mouth extremely dry. When he tried to speak, nothing but parched air left his lips.

He swallowed the little saliva he had and tried again.

"Amber...Amber wake up." he said softly and very raspy.

Even saying those few words, hurt his throat immensely, but he pressed on regardless.

She began to stir and lifted her head.

"Sp...Spyro?"

"Thank the ancestors..." he said relieved that she was still alive.

"Spyro where are we...?" she asked weakly

"I dont know sweetheart...Gaul has something to do with this. I'll make him pay I swear." Spyro said as his wounds too began to sting.

"I'm scared Spyro..."she admitted in a whimpering tone.

"Its ok Amber...I'll figure a way out of this..."

At that moment, two large metallic doors open from the far side of the room, and light shone in from the outside, but was cut off by the doors closing just as abruptly as they had opened.

In strode none other than Gual, coming to inspect his two prisoners.

Gaul hated dragons more than anything in all of the realms. They had killed many of his kind, and his sweetest twisted dreams often involved the torturing to death of the very dragon restrained before him now. Malefor had given him the green light to kill Spyro in whatever way he saw fit, and to bring him his head, so that he would know he was dead.

"Looks like I have finally caught the brave purple dragon...and a friend." he said excited that he now had the opportunity not only to kill the purple dragon, but also to erase another dragon from this world.

Gaul drew a long jagged dagger and held it to her neck, as tears ran down her face.

"Or should I say...lover?"

He heard Spyro growl as he got close to her.

Gaul heard this and whipped around, slashing Spyro across the chest, his blade stinging as it drug across his gold belly scales.

He cried out as Gaul smiled maliciously, looking at his blade, which was covered in Spyro's blood. He rubbed a greasy ape finger across it, and tasted his blood.

"Hmhmhm...soon you will die dragon...but not before I have a little fun with you and your friend...oops...I mean lover!" he shouted hitting Amber over the head with the hilt of his dagger, cutting her cheek and causing her to loose more blood.

"I swear I will kill you Gaul you sadistic fuck!" he growled loudly

Gaul simply smiled and walked away and exited through the same doors that he came in through.

Amber was crying silently as her tears mixed with the new cut on her face, stinging even more.

"I'm so sorry for this Amber...I never meant for you to get hurt..." Spyro admitted as tears began to fall from his eyes too.

"Its ok Spyro...I saved you...because I love you." she said softly

"I love you too Amber...I'll get us out of this...I promise."

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The air rushed past Cynder's wings as she reached the shipwreck in record time. She saw the bow of the ship still sticking out of the water, and decided to land on the small part that was above water to rest briefly.

She landed and tried to remember which way the ocean currents wouldve taken him if he had floated somewhere. After remembering the chart, she took to the air once more, and came across multiple islands, deciding to land on the largest one to start her search.

She came across a large door propped up against a sand bank. She hoped this was a sign he was here. She took to the air again and tried to see where he wouldve gone if he had abandoned the beach. As she rose higher, she caught a familiar and hated whiff. Apes...

She dove down and followed it until she landed at the mouth of a cave, which smelled strongly of another female, which confused her, but there were apes inside the cave, so that came first.

Two of them jumped at her and she countered with a tail strike to one and a fire blast to the other one.

There was only one ape left, and he recognized who was before him, and even in her small form, he was still terrified.

She charged and pinned him to the floor with her razor blade like tail pressing against his neck.

"What are you doing here ape?" she demanded

"I came here with Gaul...we were looking for the purple dragon..."

Hearing this peaked Cynders hope as she continued with her interogation.

"Did you find him?"

He hesitated to answer, so she cut off his right foot.

"Answer me or you will lose more!" she snapped as the ape howled in pain.

"Yes! He took him back to his fortress..." he answered through the pain.

She knew where Gaul's fortress was, and set out toward it, although it would take quite a while to get there.

Cynder knew Gauls hatred for dragons, and she had seen what he did to one's he had captured during the great wars, and it almost made her sick physically. She shuttered at the thought of her Spyro at the hands of such a merciless monster, which made her fly faster to try and save him.

She could only pray that she wasnt too late.

**Wow, so Spyro and Amber have just driven into Screwedville. And Gaul is the mayor of Screwedville. So...next chap will be near the end! maybe two or three chapters to go! **

**peace!**


	14. Chapter 14 And The Lost

**Chapter 14- AND THE LOST**

The dungeon they were trapped in had no windows, and no source of outside light. The passage of time was a mystery to the both of them as the only way they marked it was by how many times they would each drift into unconsciousness from exhaustion, or blood loss. But they soon lost track of that as well.

Their situation didn't look good. It seemed as thought at any moment, the footsteps beyond the only door would be those of Gaul, coming to finish his eighteen year task.

In all likelihood, it would be Spyro he'd come for first, and he fully expected this.

Spyro was hanging his head, as any effort to hold it up was met with harsh protest from his tired muscles. He was looking at the newest cut on his once brilliant gold chest scales as it began to stop bleeding. He was awakened from his trance by Amber's soft voice.

"Spyro...Why is he doing this?" she asked wearily

He thought about what he should tell her...she knew about his life and what he was, almost everyone did. But he wondered if she was strong enough to hear the evil, hate filled truth. They would probably not make it out of this one, so she should at least die without delusions.

"His name...is Gaul." just muttering his name left a foul taste in his mouth, but he continued nonetheless.

"He is hellbent on releasing the dark master. He has been waiting for his chance to kill me ever since I saved Cynder from Malefors magic. He hates dragons with a vengeance. I'll never know why, but according to Cynder, his dream is a world free of dragons, preferably a world where he personally killed them all off. He wants us dead..." He said as his voice trailed off sadly.

Amber tried to absorb everything that was just revealed, but it was all very disturbing to her. Spyro, her now closest friend, her steadfast rock in all of this chaos was no longer in control, and furthermore at the mercy of someone else. And indeed this someone had no mercy for their kind. The very idea shook her to her very core.

"Amber, no matter what happens, I want you to stay strong for me okay?"

Amber's eyes welled up once more, and she looked away from his still soft purple eyes and whispered.

"Please don't say that Spyro..." she trembled as her jaw quivered on the verge of tears.

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Ignituswas getting worried about Cynder. Since her foray into the forbidden forest, she hadn't been out of her room, and she had been sleeping in, which was not like her at all. He decided to bring her breakfast in bed as it were, to see if he could convince her to come back out into the world.

He knocked on her door and waited for a response before speaking.

"Cynder, I know loosing Spyro has been hard on you...It has been on all of us, but it helps when you confide in others." he said softly from the other side of the cracked door.

He heard no response, so he pushed the door open farther, only to discover that she was not even in the room.

Thinking that she had finally decided to join the rest of the society, he thought little of her absence as he closed her door and left to find food.

After a few hours, Ember was her next visitor. She entered her room with Flame and observed nothing but her things and the empty cushion on which she slept.

"That's weird, I don't remember seeing her out today..." Ember said curiously to Flame as he nodded in agreement.

"Me neither." he added

They elected to ask Cyril, her instructor, if he knew of her whereabouts.

"I'm sorry young ones, I was under the impression that she was still locked in her chamber." he said taking a bite of his kill.

They decided to ask Ignitus, as he seemed to know where all of the younger dragons where, as was his job...in a sense.

After another dead end, the two of them walked back into the center of town.

"Hmm...you don't think she ran back into the forbidden forest again do you?" Flame asked her

"I don't think so, she was just upset last time. She's too smart to go charging into places like that..." she answered as she pondered where Cynder could be.

"Maybe she's ontop of the temple again." Flame suggested as he looked toward the sky.

They flew up to the roof, but saw no sign of Cynder. They landed on the temple rooftop and looked over the expansive view. It was beautiful, taking in all the rolling hills and streams around the dragon village, to the west, and the massive growth of trees that made up the forbidden forest in the east. The south led to the swamplands where Spyro was born, and had lived for the beginning of his life. And to the north was the dark mountain known as mount Malefor. A black mass of rock jutting out from the green pastures with a constant veil of dark clouds swirling around it.

"I can see why she likes it up here." Ember said remorsefully.

Try as she might, images of Spyro began to invade her mind, drifting back to the time when she had a crush on him, before she had seen Flame the way she did now.

His gentle smile, his caring nature...Even when someone had hurt him in the worst way possible, he turned the other cheek, as was evident when he decided to take Amber on the cruise with him. No one is sure what happened to her either, but she was not known around the dragon village, as she lived far away from the temple.

Ember's extended silence caught Flames attention, and he knew what she was thinking about, but decided to ask anyway.

"A gem for your thoughts sweetheart?" he asked as she sat down and he did next to her.

She sighed, and looked away from the view and down at her feet.

"Just...remembering... I miss him Flame." she said blinking rapidly to keep her eyes from tearing up.

Flame wrapped a wing around her and put his arm on her shoulders.

"I...I do too..." he said becoming a touch emotional as well.

They sat there on the rooftop for a few minutes in silence. Each contemplating the tragedy that was their loss of their dear friend Spyro.

"He's better off now Ember...No one can hurt him anymore... I bet right now he is with his parents, without a care in the world, looking down on us right now. And I bet he is wishing you wouldn't cry for him." Flame assured her through his own moist eyes.

She nuzzled his neck in response, and he felt her tears on his neck.

"...I should have pulled him away when the ship was first attacked. I could have saved him Flame..."

He put a firm hand under her chin and raised her head to his eye level. His expression changed from one of thoughtful sadness to a stern, father like expression.

"No. There was nothing you could have done Ember. There was nothing anyone could have done. Spyro was doing his job. He was defending us from evil." he said sadly but sternly.

"But I could have-" She continued, but was cut off by his claw over her lips.

"I think about that day everyday. I think of what I could have done differently, but most of all, I think of how I miss him, and how no matter how hard I wish, he's never coming back...No matter how deceptively vivid my dreams are, he still isn't sleeping in the bed across from me like I wish he was. Every night its the same... it's you, me, and Spyro sitting at that table on the ship eating, and no matter how hard I resist, I leave every time, just like I did in real life. I want to say something to him...tell him I miss him. Tell him I love him. But every time, I keep my silence and wake up. The image of him is renewed every night, reminding me of what we've lost. It's enough to drive me insane, but if there is one thing that keeps my feet on the ground, one thing that tells me I have the strength to move on, its you. And I'm not going to let you become me by blaming yourself for this." he said as his brief tears dried on his cheeks.

She considered everything he had told her, and even though she couldnt help but think, 'what if I had done or said this', she knew he was right. Thats why she loved him. He always had the right choice of words, but spoke without the condescending tone the guardians sometimes had.

"I'm worried about Cynder..." She whispered

"We all are...She is so obsessed with this notion that Spyro is alive that...' His voice trailed off as a realization hit the both of them.

"She went looking for him!" They said to each other.

They jumped off the roof and dashed into the temple, finding Ignitus in the training hall.

"Ignitus! Cynder went looking for Spyro!" Ember shouted to him

"Preposterous Ember! Why would she do such a thing?"

"She still thinks he is alive!" Flame answered

"Remember how she told you she had proof he was alive? Surely you know Cynder wouldn't just give that up?" Cyril added joining the conversation and putting the pieces together.

Ignitus thought about this and nodded, realizing they were right.

"We must find her! She is not in the proper mental state to be out on her own!" Cyril said, and Ember and Flame agreed.

"She probably went to dragon shores, I say we start there." Flame suggested

"Right, I will leave Voltier and Terrador in charge and will meet you at the portal." Ignitus said walking toward the other guardians chambers.

"By the gods, that dragoness will be the death of me." he muttered to himself.

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She was so close... she could almost smell his familiar scent as if he were right next to her. The clouds were dark, a signal that she was close to Gauls stronghold. She remembered exactly where it was in location to the great sea. Accessible only by flight, it was built into a massive rock rising from the sea floor. She prayed harder with each passing second that she was not too late. If she was, then she would take as out as many of his soldiers as she could before they...Cynder shook the thought from her head. She would find him in time, and would return with him, proving wrong everyone who doubted her.

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The doors swung open, startling the both of them as they looked up to see Gaul, smiling that same evil smile he had before.

He strode over to them swiftly, drawing his dagger from its sheath.

"Ah, finally my day has come. The day where I will rid the world of you Spyro the dragon!" he spat so close that his saliva splattered on Spyro's face, causing him to cringe in disgust before returning a look of sheer hatred.

Behind Gaul stood an ape, carrying many daggers, similar to the one Gaul currently wielded.

"But first...I feel you should know of my thoughts of the last evening...As I sat in my chamber, I was thinking of the best way to ensure that your last hours would be the most painful experience of your miserable life. And then it hit me...Death is all too merciful for you, young foilerof my plans." Gaul continued to talk, but Spyro's mind was not on his words. It was focused on his left forepaw. A link in the chains which restrained him was giving way as he pulled on it with all his strength. It wasn't going to break, but it would bend enough for him to slide the other link of the chain out of it, freeing his arm to release the other, and then his head. All he needed was more time, as it was a slow process. He couldn't risk Gaul noticing, then replacing it.

"...you will watch her die instead!" Those words caught his attention as he looked at Amber, who had pure terror in her eyes. Gaul turned his back to him, and raised his dagger, smiling that damn evil smile.

"Amber! No!" he shouted as she screamed, watching Gaul listen and enjoy her cries of terror, as if it were a fine symphony.

He pulled on his restraint with everything he had, all his energy focused on this one task. If he could just break free...he could kill Gaul and save her.

The link in the chain gave way even more, but it still wasn't big enough for him to escape his bonds. Gauls knife began its descent, and he pulled harder and harder, gritting his teeth through the pain. Just a few more inches now...

Then he heard it. The sickeneing sound of cold steel slicing through innocent scales. Her blood splattering onto the floor and onto the wall beside his head. She gasped in pain as it echoed through the dungeon.

Gaul grabbed another knife from his assistant in his left hand and one more in his right.

"Amber!" He yelled as he continued to pull against his chains.

"Spyro..." She whispered through her teeth as Gaul stabbed her again with the other two knives, laughing as he went. Almost dancing as he grabbed another knife from the ape and continued.

Her cries of agony echoed through the dungeon, tearing at Spyro's heart like the daggers tearing into the dragoness he had grown to love.

Tears flowed from his eyes as Gaul implanted the last dagger into her heart, with great circumstance. He pulled and pulled, but his chains did not budge, frustrating him as he cried out in both physical and mental anguish.

He stepped away from her. Allowing Spyro to see her condition...she was not long for this life.

He gazed upon her...the blood from her wounds emptying onto the floor, making its way to him.

Amber managed the strength to raise her head, and look over to her lover, tears also running down her bruised face.

He still thought her beautiful, even in this state...despite her condition, her eyes were still that amazing golden color. He wanted to keep her alive by his stare alone...

Gauls laughter rang out in his mind as Amber's head slowly began to droop, as did her eyelids.

"Amber...Please...Don't die..." Spyro cried softly as he finally gave up on his restraints.

He watched, helpless as the life left those beautiful eyes that he had dreamt of on so many nights.

"Sp...spyro...I..."

She drew her final breath.

"Shaydo! Why have you forsaken me?!" Spyro called angrily to the heavens. This, was what he meant in his dream...why hadn't he seen it before?

"There is no one left for you dragon! Once you are gone, the rest of the dragon race will fall as well!"

"Amber...this wasn't supposed to happen. I never meant for you to get hurt..." he wept

Gauls mocking laughter infuriated him, and his sadness turned to blind, uncontrollable rage. Gaul was right, he had taken everything from him. No one knew he was even alive, let alone to come looking for him. He had nothing left.

"Gaul...you had better kill me. Because if you make the mistake of letting me live I will hunt you, your children, and your children's children until my last dying breath!" He snarled at Gaul, thick black smoke rising from his mouth, though his fire was useless in these chains, as they seemed to sap all of his elemental powers. Vendettas were not like Spyro at all, but his rage was an all consuming inferno.

"Fear not dragon. I have been doing this for a very long time. I do not make amateur mistakes. But your end will not be as quick as hers." he said motioning toward Ambers body.

Gaul had one more dagger on the other side of his hip. His moved his cape aside, exposing the ornately decorated handle with depictions of apes slaying dragons carved into it and the blade. But he wasn't reaching for his blade, he grabbed a small brown bag on his belt and held it up to Spyro's face smiling.

"Hm...oh you little purple pest. Did you think that watching her die was all I had for you?" he hissed evilly

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Cynder made out the distant speck of Gauls fortress on the horizon.

"Finally! Almost there...I'm coming Spyro!" She said with a renewed sense of vigor and adrenaline.

**alright, only one, maybe two more chapters to go! **

**Cya!**


	15. Chapter 15 Unfinished Business

**CHAPTER 15- UNFINISHED BUSINESS**

"The worst is yet to come." Gaul sneered as he removed a blue powder from the bag he had taken from his hip.

He laughed as he explained its effects

"This is one of my favorite psychological weapons...I do hope you enjoy it. It destroys every memory of the first person you see after you inhale it. In your case, that would be her." He said motioning toward Ambers body.

"But dont worry dragon, I wont take all your memories of her from you...I engineered this batch to leave you with your most traumatic memory...Which, if I'm not mistaken happened a few minutes ago...?"

Spyro said nothing. He didn't even hear what Gaul was saying, so all encompassing was his fire for revenge.

Upon seeing no reaction from Spyro, Gaul grew angry, his face twisting into a glaring expression of annoyance. If there was one thing Gaul hated, it was being ignored.

"Did you hear me you worthless piece of S- AHHH!" Gaul had attempted to slap Spyro back to his senses, but that was exactly what he was waiting for. When his hand came down, it fell right across his gaping jaws. He clamped as hard as he could, and bit off his right index finger. The taste that invaded his mouth was bitter and disgusting, and he spat as much out as he could, satisfied that even if he would die here, at the hands of this evil creature, Gaul would have something to remember him by.

"Do your worst you bastard..." He growled, content with the damage he had done to his captor.

He relished in Gauls pain as he recoiled and held his hand, slowly bleeding and mixing with the blood on the ground.

"You will soon join your friend in hell!" he grabbed the blue powder with his undamaged hand, and threw it in his face, causing him to cough heavily before he could breathe again.

It took effect immediately, and the room around him, and everyone in it began to melt away. Soon, he was greeted with every memory involving Amber that he had, flashing before his eyes all in the course of a few seconds. Then he saw her face in front of him, and it slowly began to fade away. As it got harder and harder to see her clearly, she began to melt into the blackness of his mind, as if a shadow was being cast over her. This continued until nothing was left but her eyes...those beautiful golden eyes...He had to fight this, he had to keep her alive, at least in memory.

"No...I wont let him take you away from me!" he cried

Then, as soon as it began, he was back in the dungeon, staring at the gold dragoness before him.

Gaul grabbed him around the neck and said with an evil grin

"What is her name?"

Spyro thought hard...He tried to match the name to the face he was seeing...but nothing came. Not a word, not even a hint of a letter...just, blankness.

He felt a single tear escape his eye, and run down his cheek.

Gaul released him as a sign that indeed the magic powder had worked. As he walked away, he called to Spyro

"I'll be back for you dragon, but rest assured that your end will not be as quick as hers..."

"Amber."

Gaul stopped dead in his tracks after hearing what he hoped was just his ears playing tricks on him.

"What did you say?" he said turning over his shoulder

"I said...Her name...is Amber!" Spyro shouted in defiance as all of his memories with her returned to him. He may have been unable to control her death in the real world, but he would never let her die in his heart.

Gaul grabbed the final dagger from his assistant and walks at a furious pace toward Spyro, enraged that he had resisted his powers.

Gaul got within a few feet of Spyro and prepared to begin hacking away when an explosion rocked his fortress, shaking the dust from the roof.

Soon, the east wall was blown in, shedding the dim outside light in the dungeon. And in that light, stood someone Spyro had been praying to see one last time.

Cynder.

"Gaul! You and I have unfinished business!" she shouted in a battle stance. She glanced around the room and saw Spyro chained up, but still alive, next to a white female dragon she didn't recognize.

She was overjoyed to see him still alive, but there was a bigger task at hand than reunions.

"Very well, This wont take long. You aren't the powerful being you once were, little Cynder." Gaul said, his mood improving as well due to the fact that he would get the chance to kill yet another dragon, and one who had been his rival at that.

The ape who had been carrying his blades drew a sword of his own and ran at Cynder.

She was ready for him as he slashed the heavy sword down at her.

She sidestepped his blow and his sword was stuck into the ground. As the ape struggled with it, she rose up on her hind legs and walked with great care and balance up the blade of the ape broke his neck with her forepaws quickly and easily, turning her attention to Gaul.

She glanced at Spyro, and saw his ravaged body. She felt anger building toward Gaul for doing this to him.

"What have you done to him you twisted son of a bitch!" She shouted as she ran to his side, and hugged him, trying to get his shackles off.

"Cynder...I'm so happy to see you..." he whispered to her as she strokes his head, trying to calm him.

"I'm getting you out of here Spyro..." she said pulling on his bonds.

She finally pulls him from his chains and releases his neck from the restraints.

He looked deep into her eyes. He saw the future...He saw Cynder, sitting in a grassy field, watching a beautiful young hatchling play in the grass. That was her future, he knew it. He wasn't sure how, but he knew that had to be what he was seeing. And in this vision of peace, he saw himself step in and sit beside her as he held her close. He smiled slightly as this vision faded.

He looked up from her beautiful face and saw motion behind her.

Without saying anything, he threw Cynder to the right. She hit the floor and looked up, wondering why he would do such a thing seemingly out of nowhere.

She saw a spear embedded in his side. He was holding it as blood trickled down his side.

"No! Spyro!" she said looking to Gaul, who was smiling, and holding his last sword.

She growled with anger as she released a blast of dark energy heading straight for him.

He threw up more magic dust and blocked the hit, leaving him unharmed.

Gaul jumped and slammed the hilt of his sword on Cynders head, knocking her across the room.

Spyro fought with the sharp pain in his ribs. It didn't feel fatal, as it was mostly his side, but because of the way the spearhead was shaped, pulling it out would be hell on earth.

Cynder shook off the hit saw Gaul charging once more. This time she was ready, and blocked his sword with her tail blade, and then used her sharp wingtips to cut him across the face, blinding him in his left eye.

"You will pay for that!" he said slashing across her chest. She was able to dodge the brunt of the blade, but it managed to cut her right forefoot badly, making it to painful to try and walk on it.

She tried to stand on it. She was well adapted to not show pain, but it was truly killing her.

Cynder fired another blast of dark energy and Gaul blocked it, same as before. The smoke hid Gaul from view until he sprung forward, catching Cynder by surprise, hitting her hard with his shoulder, almost knocking her out.

She was dazed, and unable to move. she watched as the blur she guessed was Gaul stepped toward her, his sword held high.

"Now...you die..." he raised his sword, and prepared to strike.

"Gaul!" the voice echoed throughout the dungeon

He turned slowly to see Spyro standing behind him.

He had removed the spear from his side, still clutching his wound, but ready to fight nonetheless.

He walked away from Cynder to face the injured dragon.

His anger was in control, and there was no stopping it now.

Gaul came down with a hard slash, but he stepped aside. As hard as he could, he slammed his fist into Gauls face. With a thundering crack, he rolled across the floor.

He dropped his sword, and Spyro picked it up. Gaul stood again, drawing a dagger from his cloak, but Spyro struck first.

He slashed an 'X' deep into Gauls chest, and then dropped the sword.

Gaul laughed at his attack, as his face was bloodied, the cuts on his chest were not nearly fatal.

"Is that all you've got dragon?" he asked readying his dagger to penetrate Spyros heart.

With his last bit of strength, he slammed Gaul into the wall, holding his forearm against his neck.

"This is for Amber!" he said taking his free hand, and slamming it into the X he had carved into his chest earlier.

His hand broke through his skin and crashed through the bones of his ribs.

Gaul shrieks in pain as Spyro plunges deeper into his chest, reaching his target. The evil heart of a dragon killer.

He feels it beating faster, as he tries to scratch or injure Spyro in some way, but this was the end for him.

"With my fist, I will silence your black heart!" he said before wrapping his hand around it, and pulled his beating heart from his chest, letting Gaul see it before he roared and engulfed it flames.

Gaul slowly bled to death as Spyro fell to his knees in tears.

Cynder shook her head and came to her senses, running over to Spyro as he wept on his knees.

"Thank the gods your alive Spyro...I knew you woudnt leave me..." she said holding him as if she would never see him again.

"I'm so sorry Cynder..." he said returning her embrace.

There was silence until he spoke.

"I...I couldn't save her..." he said, tears still flowing down his battered features.

"Who?" Cynder asked, but then remembered the white dragoness chained up beside them.

"...Amber..." he said getting up, and unstrapping her from her bonds, and carrying her to the hole in the wall Cynder had made.

She watched but chose to respect him by letting him have this brief moment alone.

He carried her to the edge of the fifty foot high drop from the ledge.

He closed her eyes, and looked at her face one last time. She looked peaceful. He hoped she was at peace now, in the afterlife. he kissed her on the forehead, and released her from his grasp. He watched as she fell into the waters below.

"Goodbye Amber...I'll never forget you."

In his head, he heard her voice, as if she was speaking to him from the world beyond. It was as if she felt his guilt, his sadness for her death, and with her words, comforted him.

_'Do not stand at my grave and weep,  
I am not there, I do not sleep._

I am a thousand winds that blow.  
I am the diamond glint on snow.  
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.  
I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you wake in the morning hush,  
I am the swift, uplifting rush  
Of quiet birds in circling flight.  
I am the soft starlight at night.

Do not stand at my grave and weep.  
I am not there, I do not sleep.  
Do not stand at my grave and cry.  
I am not there, I did not die!'

Spyro heard her words loud and clear, and tried to accept the one thing he couldn't change.

He walked back to Cynder, who was limping due to her injured forefoot.

"We need to leave."


	16. Chapter 16 The Great Escape

**CHAPTER 16- THE GREAT ESCAPE**

Cynder stood up and gingerly tested her weight on her injured leg.

"Can you fly?" She asked

"I think I can manage. Lets go."

Spyro turned to face the hole when Cynder stopped him.

"Wait, we cant leave. Not yet." she said

He turned with a raised eyebrow and asked

"Why not?"

"Because...Gaul has a direct link to the dark master...We have to find, and destroy it, or another one of his minions will take his place."

Spyro nodded begrudgingly and walked away from the ledge.

"Where do we start?"

"In his chamber, he has a seeing pool. He adds magic powder to it and can control the minds of those who aren't strong enough to resist its hold." she explained

Spyro walked toward the door of the dungeon and walked down the hallway, Cynder leading the way, as she still remembered where most everything was in this place she hoped to never see again.

They came across an extravagantly decorated doorway, with depictions of dragons being killed by ape knights, similar to what was on Gauls dagger.

"In here?" he asked

Cynder nodded and he pushed it open.

They entered Gauls chamber and an unearthly chill settled over them. This was one place where dragons were never meant to tread.

In the corner of the room, a green light radiated from a stone pedestal. Behind it sat shelves with vials of various colors, containing Gauls magic powder that he used to work his evil.

"Thats the seeing pool." she said approaching it with Spyro. They looked into it, and an uneasy feeling grew in their stomachs.

"How do we destroy this thing?" he asked

"I have an idea..." She said grabbing as many vials of powder as she could and poured them all in the pool at the same time.

The pool began to foam and bubble violently as Spyro and Cynder backed away.

"Lets get out of here!" She warned as they made it out a little ways down the hallway before an explosion blew off the doors to Gauls chamber, rocking the fortress and filling the room they were in with flames.

"One down...Where's this other thing?" He asked

"If I remember correctly...There should be a chamber with some kind of marker on the door..." she said as they cautiously walked down the hallway, being careful to avoid any traps that may have been set for invaders.

There were lots of doors, but all of them were generic and unremarkable, until they came upon double doors with a large black dragon with eyes like burning coals on it. Its wings were flared angrily and in its hind legs were clutched lightning bolts, and arrows. Cynder recognized who it was immediately. Just seeing his face again filled her heart with paralyzing fear.

"Th...This is it." she studdered, taking a small but noticable step backwards from Malefors image.

Spyro ignored the image and pushed the door open.

Cynder hurried after him, so that she wouldn't have to touch it, or have Malefors gaze upon her for any longer than necessary. Even though it was only a carving on a door.

This room was much more dark and foreboding than even Gauls chamber. It was lit by candles that seemed to be strategically placed, as if used for some ceremonial purpose. There sat a pedestal in the center of the room, a pentagram surrounded it, and evil symbols flanked each arm of the shape.

On the pedistal, sat a crystal ball that swirled with what looked like fire inside of it, constantly in motion.

Spyro approached it slowly.

"Be careful Spyro...you don't know what that thing can do." Cynder warned.

As he got closer, the swirling fire began to take the shape of something round.

He was mesmerized by it. Its soft glow was hypnotizing as he was within a foot of its pedestal.

He heard a soft muffled sound come from behind him. He wasn't sure where it came from. He thought it may have been Cynder, but it didn't matter to him. Nothing mattered except for him grabbing that crystal ball. He wanted to become one with it, to absorb its warm glow. He raised his hands and as soon as his hands touched it, they were stuck to it. The ball not letting his hands go no matter how hard he tried to free them. The warm inviting glow was replaced by a red hot fury, and the shape that had begun to form inside the ball turned out to be a single burning eye. It seemed made of fire, save for the vertical pupil like that of a cat, which was pitch black. Its evil gaze was piercing straight through to Spyro's very soul. It was Malefors window to the outside world from convexity. Its evil stare burned into him. The feeling was very disturbing, and he wanted it to end, but he couldn't let go of the crystal ball. He heard a voice in his head that sent shivers down his spine.

_"Do you know who I am Spyro?"_

Spyro didn't answer. For once in his life, he was too petrified to speak.

_"We share a connection, you and I_." He said. The eye of Malefor paralyzed him, as his hands began to burn and feel extremely hot. He had to let go, but he couldn't. It wouldn't let him.

Spyro still said nothing.

_"I will find you purple dragon. Everything you know is at an end_."

Spyro felt a jarring impact on his side, and he was released from Malefors grip and the crystal ball rolled away from him.

He looked to see who had hit him. It was Cynder, she was on top of him.

"You looked like you were in trouble..." She said in a worried tone

"Thank you Cynder...I don't think that thing is supposed to be touched..." he said lightly as she quickly removed herself from him, blushing heavily

She grabbed a cloth from the floor and picked up the ball, trying not to look directly at it, and wrapping it in the cloth so the same thing wouldn't happen to her.

"Now can we leave?" Spyro asked catching his breath

She nodded and they made their way back to the dungeon with the hole in the wall, passing Gauls still burning chambers.

They stood on the ledge, and Spyro looked down into the stormy sea where he had laid Amber to rest.

He paused only momentarily to reflect. He felt his eyes watering once more, and wanted to leave before he got emotional, but Cynder stopped him.

"She meant a lot to you, didnt she?" Cynder asked, referring to Amber.

He nodded, not wanting to look at her, and not wanting her to look at him and see his emotional side. A part of him he was careful not to expose.

He felt an arm around his waist, and a head nuzzling his shoulder. He closed his eyes and returned the affection. Cynder felt moisture on her cheeks. Not from her eyes, but from Spyro's.

"It's ok to cry Spyro...Its just you and me here." she cooed to him

He was so thankful that she arrived when she did. He considered what it would have been like if he had taken her instead of Amber. It was more than likely that they both would be dead, as there would be no one to save them before Gaul had his way with them.

Spyro was eternally grateful for Cynder. His grief for Amber still burned inside him, but unlike before, there was a light at the end of the long, dark tunnel. That light was the beautiful, although slightly injured black dragoness before him, trying to take his pain away with her embrace.

"I know Cynder...I know now. Lets go." He whispered to her. They took to the air and flew under the darkened clouds, Cynder holding the ball wrapped in the cloth.

As they got a few miles away, Spyro took one last look at Gauls fortress as it began to shrink into the distance. The flames from Gauls chamber had spread to the entire west wing of the structure, creating a bright orange glow in the dim stormy light.

He thought of everything that had transpired within the past 48 hours. He had gone from on top of the world, to the most heartbroken he had ever been.

His former lover was lost beneath the waves below them, and it was there, she would stay.

He turned his attention forward to the direction they were flying. As they began to leave the area of the sea Gaul controlled, the storm clouds began to break, and rays of sunlight began to stream through the clouds. Something Spyro thought he would never see again.

He noticed Cynder moving out of his peripheral vision. She had released the Eye of Malefor and watched it fall into the raging waves of the great sea.

"There. Now no one will be releasing Malefor for a long time." she said contently as the rag blew off of it on the way down, allowing the faint orange glow to be seen in the water until it was swallowed by the blackness of the sea.

"Good...How far away are we from dragon shores?" Spyro asked, becoming a little more optimistic about the fact that he would get to see his friends and loved ones again.

"About five hours. Can you fly that long?" She asked

"I think I'll be ok." he answered.

"Spyro...I'm so glad you're safe."

"Me too Cynder...Thank you for saving me."

The grey clouds were almost completely gone, with blue sky breaking through in patches. He was almost home.

He would never forget Amber, but knew that her passing was meant to lead him to his destined mate. Cynder.

He wished that this realization didnt have to cost Amber her life, but that was something he would live with forever.  
And if Amber had still been alive, it would still be her that ruled his heart and mind, and himself and Cynder would never be.

Shaydo had warned him about interacting with Amber, and for that, both he and her payed the price for it. But her spirit will live on in the afterlife, and in his heart.

They arrived in dragon shores a few hours later and landed at the portal to the dragon village.

Spyro and Cynder stepped through the portal and were immediately greeted by the Elders, Ember, and Flame, who were shocked, to say the least, to see the two of them.

Cynder looked at the elders with a stare of aggravation and said

"I told you I had proof."

Cynder then abruptly fell onto her front legs, weakened by the still bleeding cut on her front leg.

Spyro picked her up and carried her the rest of the way to the dragon temple, where the both of them were cared for, and healed, after what could only be described as a lengthy but fun, 'Thank-the-gods-you-aren't-dead' party.

Months past after Spyro and Cynders return, and they had grown rather fond of each other since then, much to Embers liking, as she aways had a feeling that the two of them would end up together.

After seeing the statue they had made to honor his death, he asked that it be taken down, and re-sculpted into the likeness of another. It was of Amber, she was sitting with her wings and tail wrapped around her elegant body, and she faced the same direction Spyro's had.

We rejoin Spyro watching the sunset from the cliff on which her monument sat, the soft sound of the waves crashing below him, and the gulls riding the gentle sea breeze above made up the soundtrack to his reflection. He thought of the last time he heard Amber's voice on this day, one year ago. He remembered her every word...

_'Do not stand at my grave and weep,  
I am not there, I do not sleep.'_

While he didn't do very much weeping these days, he did often find himself sitting at the foot of this memorial, when he wanted be alone.

_I am a thousand winds that blow.  
I am the diamond glint on snow.  
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.  
I am the gentle autumn rain._

Every time he felt the wind, he thought of her spirit.

Every time he looked at the freshly fallen snow, he was reminded of her scales.

When the summer sun warmed his scales, he remembered her warm embrace.

When the gentle fall rain wet his scales, he remembered how lucky he was that she pulled him from the waves.

_When you wake in the morning hush,  
I am the swift, uplifting rush  
Of quiet birds in circling flight.  
I am the soft starlight at night._

He was grateful for the quiet times he would awake before Cynder, and watch her sleep. She was his beautiful savior. He had saved her from Malefor, and she had returned the favor. He loved her with all his heart, and though his memory of Amber was something he would always hold dear, it was no replacement for a real dragoness. His, real dragoness. His Cynder.

He heard footsteps behind him, then felt a tail wrap around his.

"Its gonna get dark soon, are you coming inside?" she whispered softly.

"Yes...Stay here and watch the sunset with me...?"

"Of course sweetheart." She said as he wrapped his wing around her.

As they sat and watched the sun slowly melt with the horizon, Cynder had one question on her mind.

"Thinking about her again?" Cynder asked, in not a jealous tone, but a caring one.

"Yeah...but only because today is..." he was cut off by Cynder's claw on his lips.

"Shhh... She is in a better place now. She'd want you to be happy, right?" she asked

"...Yes."

"And she wouldn't want you to spend all day thinking about that terrible event would she?"

"Probably not..." he admitted. He knew where she was going with this, he had been rather quiet and reserved today.

"Then lets get back to the village...I'm getting sleepy, and I think the baby is too." she said rubbing her belly. She was only about a month in, but soon the egg would be laid, and Spyro and Cynder's legacy would live on. Though his memory of Amber and that fateful day would gradually fade, he knew that none of this would even have been possible, if it weren't for her. And for that, he was eternally grateful.

**THE END.**

**There you have it! ok, so remember that this isnt tied in to Lucifers kingdom at all, and it has elements of Love at first sight, such as Amber and Spyro's memories of the events in that story. Well? What did you think?**


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